India needs to go green

India’s Prime Minister wants to increase renewable energy capacity to 500 gigawatts (GW) by 2030. This is a bold target for a country that produced 1.8 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide in 2022 and produced enough indoor air pollution to kill around 600,000 Indians according to the Lancet. 

Yet, in a country that is finding its voice, the Prime Minister’s target does not seem quite so far off. 

In Khavda, near India’s border with Pakistan, the Adani Group are constructing a 730 square kilometre solar and wind farm, hoping to tap into the abundant solar rays that India benefits from. When the project is completed, it will have a 30GW capacity and will provide 4% of India’s electricity consumption. This is just a small part of the Adani Group’s plan to build 45GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. 

Similarly, his closest rival Mukesh Ambani, is planning on a spending splurge on renewable energy, with rumours circulating that he intends to contribute toward a $150bn investment plan in renewables over the next decade. 

All this to say that over the last five years, 80% of the newly installed generating capacity in India has been in the renewable sector. Suggesting that business and government are taking the Prime Minister’s plan seriously.

However, challenges do remain, most prominently the fact that coal-fired power stations continue to grow in usage, with such stations allowing a tripling in the country’s electrical power consumption in the past 20 years. Furthermore, some claim that even for India to reach its renewable goals, the pace of building would need to increase from today’s 15GW a year to almost 60GW a year. But the rate at which consumption is growing has made many suggest that the rate of growth would need to be far higher than even 60GW a year, leading  to questions about sustainability.

Of course, there are clear incentives for the government and business to do more. Solar panels are cheap and getting cheaper and with India being a sun-drenched place, solar panels are far better value for money than in a place like the UK. Furthermore, roof-top solar is heavily subsidised providing an additional incentive for risk averse companies. And of course, that isn’t forgetting the fact that solar installations allow businesses to reduce their reliance on state-owned distribution commissions offering the potential for big savings.

Solar power also has the potential to bring electric vehicles into the mix, particularly electric scooters and cars, which will not only reduce air pollution, they will also reduce the country’s exposure to global oil prices. 

Furthermore, those electric vehicles or components manufactured in India-such as batteries manufactured in Tamil Nadu) could also offer an exciting export market, offering the world an alternative to those exported from China.