India’s Changing Energy Mix
The Indian economy continues to grow at the rate of 7 to 8 percent. However, the very economic development that we strive to achieve depends heavily on robust and reliable energy services. Ideally, energy production must not come at a high social or environmental cost – a challenge we must face up to through sustainable growth.
Truth be told, India’s per capita energy consumption is low – 500 kgoe; far lower that the global average of 1800 kgoe1. This is due in large part, to a severe shortage of energy supply, with over 600 million Indians having no access to electricity1. Clearly, meeting this requirement itself implies a massive up in future energy generation. The government is acutely aware of this massive power deficit, and has a ‘power for all by 2012’ mission, and a planned increase in power capacity of 69 GW for the 11th Plan. Much of this growth is expected to be based on coal, at least in the short term.
India’s Changing Energy Mix
(Source: Ministry of Power)
However, recognizing the potentially serious impacts of climate change, India has ratified the UN climate deal and the Kyoto Protocol. In the follow-up to the ratification, the government came forward with the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) in June 2008. In this document, Dr. Manmohan Singh committed that “India is determined not to exceed per-capita emissions of developed countries”, while “meeting its development goals”. So although the mandate of development remains undiluted, the NAPCC ties in closely with the larger goals of energy security and sustainable development.
The NAPCC has eight key ‘missions’ of which the National Solar Mission, the National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency and the National Mission on Sustainable Habitat are flagship missions that will aim to meet key development and energy security requirements while keeping India’s greenhouse gas emissions in check.
Although detailed documents on implementation, timelines and strategies for these missions are yet to be released, they come at a time when key power sector reforms and the formation of two key energy-related government bodies (the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Bureau of Energy Efficiency) can provide the backbone that these missions need to flex to full capacity.
Massive improvements in energy efficiency are possible, and can save and therefore create power supply in large quantities. This is a tack the government is pursuing in a big way. The Ministry of Power is planning to establish an energy efficiency services company (EESL) that will function as the implementation arm of the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency, and implement energy efficiency planning and appliances in buildings and industrial sites, consultancy and the Bachat Lamp Yojana of the BEE.
Although renewables (other than hydropower) only contribute 7.7 percent to India’s energy mix as of now, India is currently the fourth-largest producer of wind energy.
With over 3oo sunny days in a year, India’s geo-position allows us to receive over 5000 trillion kWh of pure solar energy each year, with the potential to generate huge quantities of electricity through a high energy security, zero-carbon process. However, the current prohibitor to this wonder-solution is cost. This is where the National Solar Mission comes in, with the aim of making solar power competitive with respect to fossil fuel based power sources.
The Solar Mission aims to increase solar capacity by 20,000MW by 2020, and achieve grid parity for solar power in the longer term. The central government has already ordered the installation of solar power in all public buildings and has given the nod for private enterprise production of solar photovoltaic panels.
Although we still have a long way to go in terms of achieving energy equity and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, one hopes that key policies, incentives and investment from the government will promote private partnership in moving India towards a low-carbon future.
Write to us: tell us how you think India can maximize its efforts to improve energy efficiency and use clean and renewable technologies: cci@csmworld.org
[Ref – India: Addressing Energy Security. Oct 2007. MoEF; Martinez D.M. & Ebenhack B.W. Understanding the role of energy consumption in human development through the use of the saturation phenomena. 2007. Energy Policy, 36, 1430-1435; Ministry of Power; Ministry of New and Renewable Energy]
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