While there is a lot of discussion on an immediate shift from fossil fuel-based energy to renewable or green energy, some aspects are often overlooked. “India is still a developing country. The scale of energy requirements cannot be met with renewables alone. Fossil fuels will continue to play a major role in the short term,” he said on Thursday, speaking at The Energy Transition Dialogues organised by the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) in New Delhi. The event is being held from November 1-3.
The CEA pointed out that the technology for adequate battery storage is yet to be figured out. There is a huge cost involved here and there is still uncertainty around grid stability with renewable energy. The country is on track to achieve the target of having 50% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy sources, he said.
Nageswaran said according to the latest data on non-fossil fuel sources, renewable energy accounted for nearly 31% of India’s installed energy capacity, in which hydro accounted for 11% and nuclear energy 1.76%. India is just 7.25% away from its non-fossil fuel energy target.
He pointed out that the Indian government had recently taken actions to ensure the supply of critical minerals or renewable energy systems by amending rules. “It is evident that India has taken actions on multiple threads to meet its own self-defining target of at least 40% of its installed capacity through non-fossil fuel,” he added.
According to a report by Deloitte, “India is a fossil fuel dominated economy, with primary energy consumption of 880 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe). The electricity, industry, and transport industries account for more than 70 percent of the primary energy demand and 85 percent of the energy-related Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.” India has committed to net-zero by 2070, with a target to reduce the emission intensity of its GDP and meet 50 percent of its power generation capacity based on non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.
