Renewable Energy in India

[williamjr11]

India was the first country in the world to set up a ministry of non-conventional energy resources, in early 1980s.India's facing a major hike in fuel prices, which is a threat to energy security, and the need to manage economic growth with pragmatic consideration of climate change, renewable energy offers a critical solution to India's burgeoning energy demand challenges. Additionally, renewable energy technologies are more labor-intensive than more mechanized fossil fuel technologies, as demonstrated in more mature markets, and can provide a tremendous opportunity to create domestic jobs. Renewable energy in India comes under the purview of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

India's cumulative grid interactive or grid tied renewable energy capacity (excluding large hydro) has reached 33.8 GW, of which 66% comes from wind, while solar PV contributed nearly 4.59% along with biomass and small hydro power of the renewable energy installed capacity in India. The steady ramping up of green power — solar, for instance, was just 2MW in 2010 but is now over 4,000 MW — does go a long way in ensuring some degree of leverage for India at climate talks, but simultaneously poses a serious challenge for grid managers. The availability of solar and wind energy is largely determined by the weather conditions, and therefore characterized by strong variability. As a result, power generation from these sources cannot easily be matched to the electricity demand, like power generated from conventional plants such as coal-fired units and gas stations. Integration of large amount of fluctuating RE in the grid is a serious technical challenge for grid managers to ensure smooth operations of the Indian grid — the fifth largest in the world. To compound matters, RE generation forecasting in the country is in its early days.

The Modi government is pushing steadily ahead. It is working on a strategy to turn around 20,000 unemployed graduates into entrepreneurs to help it meet its solar power generation targets a plan it will implement in concert with state administration. The government is playing an active role in promoting the adoption of renewable energy resources by offering various incentives, such as Green Building index and tax holidays. The central government has cited job creation as part of its rationale for the Solar Mission. Solar Photovoltaic is recognized as creating more jobs per unit of energy produced than any other energy source; thus it potentially represents a much needed solution to unemployment in the face of India's burgeoning population and labor force.
As India moves toward its 2022 target, the Indian government must not only have a thorough understanding of the employment opportunities created by the solar industry, but also factor in this job creation potential while designing and implementing clean energy policies at the state and national levels. A rooftop solar project in Haryana to power production at a motorcycle factory for the largest manufacturer of two-wheelers in the world and a solar plant in Rajasthan demonstrate the employment potential of solar power. Renewable energy technologies are more labor-intensive than more mechanized fossil fuel technologies, as demonstrated in more mature markets, and can provide a tremendous opportunity to create domestic jobs concluding which it's the new and improved road ahead.

[JamesH]

India runs a 2% deficit, so microgeneration (reudcing demand on the grid) will certainly help this. Their coal generation is rapidly expanding as China's did in the early 2000's and that probably won't slow down. Having said that India are very good as a percentage of electricity derived from renewables, so we can't fault them for that.

[CuriousGeorge]

[quote author=JamesH link=topic=180.msg440#msg440 date=1448980829]
India runs a 2% deficit, so microgeneration (reudcing demand on the grid) will certainly help this. Their coal generation is rapidly expanding as China's did in the early 2000's and that probably won't slow down. Having said that India are very good as a percentage of electricity derived from renewables, so we can't fault them for that.
[/quote]
Indeed, India's coal power expansion is something that should be a major global concern. China and India make up a ginormous amount of the CO2 we put into the air daily. There's almost no point in smaller countries like Ireland, Finland etc trying if the 1 billion plus countries are just going to continue pouring it into the atmosphere.

[JamesH]

[quote author=CuriousGeorge link=topic=180.msg442#msg442 date=1449001784]
Indeed, India's coal power expansion is something that should be a major global concern. China and India make up a ginormous amount of the CO2 we put into the air daily. There's almost no point in smaller countries like Ireland, Finland etc trying if the 1 billion plus countries are just going to continue pouring it into the atmosphere.
[/quote]

At least they will hit a plateua soon when their economies reach the stage of ours, from then on we can expect the entire globe to reduce fossil fuel consumption as is happening steadily in the west.