REUTERS/Amit Dave
“Power To all” is a mantra used by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi
recently spoke about the “seven horses” of energy, adding renewable energy sources—solar, wind and biomass—to the present energy mix of thermal, gas, hydro and nuclear. The potential is enormous. India has a renewable energy
potential of about 895 giga watts (GW)—that is nearly three-and-a-half times India’s entire installed capacity, as of last month. Solar power alone could generate 750 GW. (One GW is 1,000 mega watts (MW), or a billion watts.) However, as
IndiaSpend previously
reported, solar power at 2.6 GW contributes to less than 1% of country’s electricity demand of 254 GW. Let us look at India’s renewable energy mix in terms of installed power capacity.
Source: Ministry of Power; Figures as on Jan 31, 2015; Figures for Renewable Energy as on 31.03.2014 India’s renewable energy contribution stands at 31 GW of installed power capacity,
compared to 18 MW in 1990. Renewable energy now accounts for 12% of India’s total power installed, which is 258 GW. India is the world’s fifth-largest producer of wind energy, with a capacity of 21.1 GW. Wind energy is the largest contributor to India’s renewable energy mix in terms of total installed capacity with a 66% share. Solar energy contributes 8% to total renewable energy capacity. Thermal power with 70%
share still dominates India’s energy mix.
Source: Lok Sabha; Figures as on Oct. 31, 2014; Figures in GW Tamil Nadu with an installed capacity of 8.1 GW in renewable energy tops the list, followed by Maharashtra and Gujarat. One reason for the success of these states is that they are also leading producers of wind energy. Tamil Nadu has an installed capacity of 7.3 GW, followed by Maharashtra and Gujarat. In solar power, Gujarat ranks first with 0.9 GW installed capacity, followed by Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The government has allowed 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) for renewable energy generation and distribution projects. The FDI inflow was
$2.5 billion from April 2000 to February 2013. This is expected to increase in the near future with government trying to attract more investment and manufacturers.
Around the world, renewables power up Renewable energy sources
accounted for 10% of global energy consumption and around 19% of global electricity needs in 2013.
Source: ren21; Figures in GW; *Others include geothermal power, concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) and ocean power The global renewable power capacity was 560 GW in 2013, of which China’s was 118 GW, or 21%. One of the reasons for China’s top position is its share of wind power capacity at 91 GW. India is ranked 6
th with 27 GW total installed capacity, contributing less than 5% of total global capacity. In solar power, Germany with 36 GW installed capacity ranks first, followed by China (19.9 GW) and the United States (12.1 GW). India’s 2.2 GW does not make it to the list of top 10 countries. The European Union’s share of global renewable power
capacity is declining as the market expands outside the EU.
The new government loves renewables The NDA government, in its maiden budget last July, increased the allocation towards renewable energy by 118% over the 2013-14 budget of the previous government. Let us look at the budget allocations for the past 10 years.
Source: Union Budget; NA – Not Available; Note: *2014-15 figures are budget estimates The budget allocation indicates a jump of almost 100% between 2009-10 and 2012-13. The revised figures indicate how ministry expenses for renewable energy shot up 226% from Rs. 356.4 crore in 2005-06 to Rs 1,163.4 crore in 2012-13. However, the decline of 62% from Rs 1,163.4 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 437.9 crore in 2013-14 could indicate a disinterest by the previous government during its last term. The government, through its ‘Make In India’ initiative, is also trying to promote manufacturing of renewable energy equipment. The government plans to
promote ‘solar entrepreneurs’ and boost jobs under the skill-development programme. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy intends to
set up a team of 50,000 ‘Urja Mitra’ (Energy Friends), by roping in educational and training institutions over the next five years. President Pranab Mukherjee, while
addressing the joint session of the Parliament on recently, also referred to the government’s clean-energy efforts. “The share of renewable energy in electricity generation is being significantly enhanced from 6% to 15% of the energy mix in the next seven years,” President Mukherjee said. It is now time to see if the government will walk its renewable talk.
KEY PROVISIONS FROM THE PREVIOUS BUDGET -Rs 500 crore towards the proposed ultra-mega solar power projects in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Ladakh in J&K. This includes Rs 400 crore for solar-power-driven agricultural pump sets and water pumping stations and Rs 100 crore for 1 MW solar parks on canal banks. -Excise duty reduced from 12% to NIL on forged steel rings, used to manufacture bearings of wind-operated electricity generators. -No excise duty on machinery, equipment etc. required for compressed biogas plants (Bio-CNG). -Concessional customs duty of 5% on machinery, equipment etc. required for compressed biogas plants. -Basic customs duty reduced from 10% to 5% on forged steel rings, which are used to make bearings for wind-operated electricity generators. -Basic customs duty on machinery and equipment for solar-energy production projects reduced to 5%.
Source: Make in India ____________________________________________________________
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