India’s needs to “succeed” in local manufacturing if it is to meet its goal of 90 per cent renewable energy by 2047, a top energy official in the country has warned.
Coal currently fuels 70 per cent of electricity output in India and Power Secretary Alok Kumar said the country need to quickly deploy clean power plants to meet its global climate commitments and end its reliance on coal.
“The challenge is huge and if we don’t succeed in promoting local manufacturing, India’s energy transition will be very, very, difficult,” Mr Kumar said on the sidelines of a G-20 energy meeting on Monday.
India has a target to increase clean energy to 50 per cent by 2030 from 42.6 per cent at present while it also aims to achieve energy self-sufficiency by 2047.
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To achieve this ambitious goal, India must build out its domestic manufacturing in green technologies such as solar modules, battery storage, and electrolysers for making green hydrogen, gvernment officials have said.
The government is offering incentives for production of green components to meet domestic needs, as well as serve the export markets, as it continues to challenge China’s dominance in the sector.
Renewable energy capacity in India has grown exponentially in recent years, and has quickly risen to become the fourth-largest in the world in hydro, wind, and solar power.
However, it faces significant challenges in achieving its ambitious clean energy targets in a secure and reliable manner while trying to balance development for the 1.4 billion population as it is also the world’s third-largest greenhouse gas emitter behind China and the US.
The country is looking to acquire critical mineral assets for the green energy shift, such as lithium, from abroad. The country is also exploring possibilities of its own newly found mineral reserve in Jammu and Kashmir.
Story was adapted from the Independent.
