The Earth To Its Own Rescue: Renewable Energy in India

Humankind and evolution have gone hand-in-hand for ages. The constructive growth achieved by us as a collective civilization can be traced in tandem with milestones in science and technology. In recent times, though, has been witnessed a slow but noticeable paradigm shift- from ambitious progress to motivated sustainability. In this blog, we talk about Renewable Energy's newfound role in the foresight and India's quest to harness its benefits.

Let's Talk Energy

Development shares an amicable equation with energy and power. It's quite simple! Higher the state of technology in a country, more the industrialization prompting higher economic growth, and vice versa. To facilitate state-of-the-art industrial processes, nation-states need an ever-increasing supply of energy and power. This becomes problematic in the face of the depletion of primarily used energy sources, i.e., non-renewable energy sources (coal, petroleum and natural gas) Besides the limited availability, non-renewable sources also heavily contribute to environmental pollution of different kinds.

Renewable Energy- The Alternative

The most efficient replacement for non-renewable energy is power generated by renewable sources. These include natural sources of power such as timber, wind, water, solar and geothermal energy. Not only are renewable sources more long-lasting, but also ecologically efficient. A direct implication of this is that a model of technological development alongside natural conservation is not just possible, but with brimming potential.

What is India’s plan?

India ranked third, one up from last year’s position, in the Renewable Energy Investment Attractiveness Index, 2021, published by EY to “rank the world's top 40 markets on the attractiveness of their renewable energy investment and deployment opportunities”. The country is strategically expanding its renewable energy infrastructure to accommodate the growing needs of necessitated industrialisation. Currently, India imports large volumes of fossil fuels to meet its energy demands. It'd be pertinent to develop indigenous energy systems, not only as a gesture of environmental priority but also to incorporate PM Modi's 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' polity into concrete action, as far as sustainable development is concerned.

Here are a few highlights of India's recent strides in this respect:

• Launch of International Solar Alliance- India collaborated with France to launch the International Solar Alliance at the India Africa Summit, in 2015. The initiative primarily aims at achieving efficient consumption of solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Currently, there are 124 members of the alliance.

• PM Modi conferred with the ‘Champion of the Earth' Award- The UN, in 2018, recognized Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi's commitment to promoting wider use of solar energy, by means of launching, supporting and championing the ISA, and the Modi Govt.'s call for eliminating single-use plastic in India by 2022.

• Second-highest wind energy capacity in Asia- India has sincerely retained a position in the top five among the world's largest wind energy capacities, behind China, the USA and Germany. India currently has a capacity of 35 GW, with the world's third and fourth-largest on-shore wind farms in Tamil Nadu (1500 MW) and Rajasthan (1064 MW) respectively.

• First Waste-To-Energy (WTE) plant to be set up in Karnataka- An 11.5-megawatt plant has been planned to be set up in Bidadi, Karnataka. The USP of the plant would, however, be the nature of input for power generation- the plant would run on 600 tons of segregated municipal waste per day, generated by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP).

• Gujarat’s Solar Power Policy 2021- In December 2020, the Indian state of Gujarat announced its Solar Power Policy effective for the succeeding five years. The policy implementation would ideally reduce power costs of industrial units by 50% and remove the existing capacity ceiling for setting up solar power projects in the State.

• Green Energy Draft Rules- The Union Ministry of Power launched the Draft Electricity (Promoting renewable energy through Green Energy Open Access) Rules, 2021 taking a step closer to the country’s pursuit of its Clean Energy Goals. The Draft provided for removal of capacity limits for industries and large power consumers for setting up solar power generation units allowed open access to willing consumers for green energy consumption (subject to policy guidelines) and encouraging the use of green hydrogen by industrial users to meet their Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO). (Read more)

Ecological imbalances can no more be suppressed under loud cries for development. Most world leaders seem to be on an unavoidable hunt for renewable alternatives to not only pursue their political commitment to green energy but also make ends meet for ulterior commercial profits in the long run. Development can no longer be viewed in isolation, in a climate of global awareness and environmental activism. Innovation has a new direction to follow- saving the planet with the help of the planet.

About Us: Enerlly is an organization rooted in industrial automation that deploys Internet-of-Things (IoT) based controllers and online platforms to create sustainable eco-conscious brands through real-time energy monitoring, energy data analytics, and consultancy Energy Auditors.