• share
• share
• share

'India’s energy demand to reach 1200 mn tn oil equivalent by 2070'

Soumik DuttaI | NT

Bengaluru | New Delhi: During the recent India energy transition summit 2023, the Union Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy Raj Kumar Singh, emphasised that India currently has 188,000 MW of installed non-fossil fuel based energy capacity, with an additional 88,000 MW under installation.

The country is expected to reach 500 GW by 2030, and is on track to do so well before that deadline. The minister further underlined that India only produces 4 per cent of the world’s carbon dioxide load, while having 17 percent of the world’s population.

India’s per capita emissions are roughly 2.2 tonnes, which is much less than the world average of 6.3 tonnes and highlights the country’s energy use practices.

The Minister emphasised the government is dedicated to environmental protection. According to the minister, India is the only significant global economy whose energy transformation initiatives are in line with keeping the increase in world temperature to within two degrees celsius.

India had completed all of its nationally determined contributions (NDCs) about ten years earlier than expected. Secretary of MNRE, Bhupinder Singh Bhalla drew attention to India’s outlined strategy for rapid expansion of its clean energy capability.

The country achieved 15 GW of clean energy capacity last year. It aims to rise to 25 GW in 2023, with ambitions to increase to 40 GW in 2024.

The secretary also referred to the yearly bidding trajectory for the following five years, which sets a goal of 50 GW of new capacity annually, at least 10 Giga watts (GW) of which will come from wind energy.

President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Subhrakant Panda also mentioned the considerable interest that domestic and foreign investors have shown in India’s renewable energy sector as businesses deal with decarbonisation.

Panda also emphasised the significant supply-side investments required to reach the goal of 500 GW of renewable energy generation by 2030. It is necessary to make investments in transmission networks, evacuation facilities, and energy storage systems, among other things, totalling up to Rs 20,000 trillion.

According to a FICCI-Deloitte report titled India’s energy transition pathways- a net-zero perspective, in a net-zero scenario with aggressive power saving initiatives, India’s ultimate energy demand is predicted to double to approximately 1200 million tonnes of oil equivalent by 2070.

India will need to make a large US$ 15 trillion investment to reach its net-zero emissions goal by 2070. The report emphasises three key pillars that are expected to handle 90 per cent of India’s emissions and serve as the foundation for the country’s ambitious energy transition plans.

These include grid decarbonisation, industrial decarbonisation, and transportation transformation (to EVs). The delicate balance between growth and decarbonisation is key in this transition for India.

Hydrogen is a viable but expensive solution, lowering the cost of clean energy; a crucial component in producing green hydrogen is the area to concentrate now.

India should explore the potential of natural gas during the transition period and the role of carbon trading to encourage environmentally friendly efforts.