New Delhi: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) will soon be holding the second round of talks with states on energy storage, energy transition and power purchase agreements (PPA), said Pralhad Joshi, the Minister for New and Renewable Energy, at the 6th CII International Energy Conference and Exhibition on Monday at New Delhi. PPAs are long-term contracts between renewable energy developers and buyers to sell and purchase electricity from a specific renewable asset, such as a solar or wind farm at a predetermined price for a set period.
“Energy transition, energy storage and PPA are very serious issues, and we are consistently holding talks with states. We have already completed one round of talks with states, and very soon we will be holding the second round of talks,” said Joshi.
As part of PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSGMBY), 20 lakh households have already installed rooftop solar panels, the minister said. Of these nearly half (48 percent) are already getting zero bills, he added, suggesting that both states and people are now realising the power of the concept. The minister further suggested that he is meeting with the heads of banks, including PSU banks, to encourage them to invest in renewable energy projects in alignment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision.
The country recently crossed the significant milestone of 250 GW of non-fossil fuel power capacity well in advance and is now targeting a further increase to 500 GW by the year 2030 to align with its climate commitments and position itself as a leader in clean energy. This 250 GW milestone includes contributions from various sources, including solar, wind, hydro, biomass, and nuclear energy.
Exhorting the private sector to up their investment in R&D in renewable energy sector, the minster said the country is exploring ‘Swadeshi’ manufacturing of polysilicon (a high-purity form of silicon used as a primary raw material in the solar photovoltaic and electronics industries), ingots and wafers (both are fundamental components in the manufacturing of photovoltaic solar cells, which are then assembled into solar panels to generate electricity).
India has met and is meeting several milestones in renewable energy sector--solar module, green hydrogen, PM Surya Griha Yojana (PM plan to provide solar power in houses), PM Kusum Yojana, said Dr Mohan Yadav, Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh (MP). MP hosts India’s largest solar project in Rewa which provides electricity to Delhi Metro Rail, Dr Yadav added. The Chief Minister also referred to MP’s most recent tender (opened two days ago) for Solar-Plus-Storage Project which has attracted a bid of Rs 2.70 paise per unit, indicating how costs of production are plunging as the sector takes off. Solar, wind, pump hydro are various areas where MP is working through various policies space of renewable energy to meet India’s net zero targets, added Dr Yadav.
Dr Muaviyath Mohamed, Minister of State, Environment and Tourism, Government of Maldives, said in a world marked by “unpredictable geopolitical shifts, growing competition for resources” and “supply chain vulnerabilities”, “energy security has rightly emerged as a top priority in the global agenda.”
Maldives, an island nation, which has limited, low-lying land, faces “high cost of imported fossil fuel”, and spends “13.5 percent of its GDP on fossil fuel imports and USD 150 million dollar on fuel subsidies”, added Dr Mohamed. Maldives is enhancing climate resilience by focusing on renewable energy, particularly solar power, and had fruitful talks with the International Solar Alliance (ISA). Indian companies are evincing interest in investing in energy, especially renewable energy.
Maldives look forward to (work with) Indian companies to achieve its target of 33 percent of electricity generation through renewable energy by 2028, added Dr Mohamed.
“The world (today) faces multidimensional challenges which I call TURN -- Turbulence, Uncertainty, Rapid change, which requires a new way of thinking and novel strategies. We are seeing manifestation of geopolitics, climate change, transformative change in technologies that is creating its own set of challenges across the world. In this context, India’s position and focus on energy security, Atmanibharta and sustainability are no longer options, they are imperatives. It is encouraging that India is making rapid progress in this space” said Sanjiv Puri, Immediate Past President, CII & Chairman, ITC.
Huge capacities will be added between now and 2030, and in order to do that we need huge amount of collaboration and cooperation between Centre and States – issues on land, evacuation of power, PPAs that have not been signed for very long period of time (as states have not met their RPO), said Dr Sinha. Dr Sinha suggested creation of GST Council can be created for Power Sector, to ease implementation electricity (reforms) in States.
“Balanced growth of wind, solar and storage will ensure that we have stable, sustainable and sustainable energy for all in the path to energy independence,” said Girish Tanti, CII National Committee on Renewable Energy and CII RE Manufacturing Council & Vice Chairman, Suzlon.
Solar manufacturing (in India) is at 20-25 percent of local content; wind energy has stronger local content at 64 percent, said Tanti, adding, “By aiming for 80 percent localised content, we can supply to not just India but the world.”
Challenges to be met during this transition include timeliness of building gridline and transmission, last mile (on ground) issues to ensure timely project completion, harmonizing our policies – for all renewable energy sources; and skill development, added Tanti. A report by CII-EY on “Eigenvectors of Net Zero Energy Transition Pathways to Viksit Bharat 20247 was also released during the conference.
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