By Manish Gupta
Power Minister RK Singh on Wednesday said that India is leading the world in energy transition with significant capacity addition in renewables but the nation will not compromise on energy needs to power the economic growth. “Our economy is growing at 7% and this needs adequate amount of electricity. I am not going to compromise on energy security. My first priority is sufficient electricity for growth,” Singh said at event organised by Tata Power.
The comments assume importance amid the debate on whether and how to curb new coal-fired power capacity.
Singh said that India is a major growing economy and the country has added 1,84,000 MW power generation capacity since 2014-15, which is the largest in the world. The capacity addition will continue in the future, he said.
“About 82,000 MW capacity addition is happening in the non-fossil segment and almost 51,000 MW is under construction in the fossil segment,” he said, adding that India is committed to cut emissions by 45% by 2030.
On the crucial issue of financing the energy transition, he said that the country is the most attractive market in renewable energy as it is built on a transparent system and hence there is no worry related to getting the financing.
However, he said that energy storage remains the top challenge in the shift towards renewables. While the world’s largest storage capacity is 230 MW in California, India has awarded development of 1,000 MW capacity, he said.
In solar energy, both the bids that will add a total of 48,000 MW manufacturing capacity under the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme are successful and the government is left with enough money for a third tranche.
On green hydrogen, the minister said that India has made so much progress that the developed world is now creating barriers to avoid importing green hydrogen from India. “The 8 million tonne of green hydrogen capacity by 2030 is modest… The developed world is now talking about ‘low carbon hydrogen’ so that they can get it from natural gas,” he said.
India added 15,000 MW of renewable energy capacity in FY23 and has set a target of adding 50,000 MW capacity each year for next five years to double the current capacity, including those in pipeline, to 500 GW by 2030, he said.
“We are the world leader in energy transition. Capacity addition will continue with the bulk additions in non-fossil, hydro and renewable energy, but till the time energy storage becomes viable, fossil fuel will remain to ensure no comprise with growth,” Singh said.