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| Fig. 1: Total primary energy consumption in India by fuel type in 2019. [10] (Courtesy of the EIA.) |
It has already been predicted by the World Energy forum that fossil-based oil, gas and coal reserves will be drained in less than a century. The high usage of natural resources has compelled policy makers and other world leaders to look for alternative sources. This is especially a problem in India since it has made coal a crucial part of its energy economy. Other countries have seemingly taken major steps towards renewable energy but India's dependency on coal seems to be increasing. [1] The global average of energy from coal is 27% but India gets 55% of its energy from coal. [2] Due to this unideal dependency on coal and given that India is the third largest consumer of energy after China and United States, with an energy deficit, there exists a great opportunity for renewable energy to be a staple in India. [3]
In 2016, when the Paris agreement was signed, India made a commitment to produce 50% of its total electricity from non-fossil sources by 2030. [4] The country also made a target of yielding 175 GW by 2022 and 500 GW from renewable energy, also by 2030. [4]
Renewable energy is classified into 4 main categories. Hydro, Wind, Solar, and Biomass. Most of Indias renewable energy sources are spread out uniformly across the country unlike fossil fuels.
India is ranked 5th in the world hydroelectric power. As of March 2020, India was able to produce 12.35% of the nations power using Hydro. [5] Additionally, India also has large storage systems for its hydroelectric power which can also be used to store energy from other sources to be used during high demand periods.
India has the 4th largest installed wind power capacity. As of June 2018, India was able to produce 10% of their power usage using wind. [6] India has also set an aspiring goal of 60000 MW of wind energy to be produced by 2022. [7] Additionally, the Indian government created a new policy in 2018 that would allocate more land to wind farms. [6]
Given India's population density and the high solar radiation it receives per unit area, it makes India a great place for solar power. In 2015, India set of goal to produce 120 GW in solar power by 2022. However, as of 2020, they're only at 50.1 GW. [8] In 2018, India set up a $350 million dollars fund plus a loan of $5 billion dollars to fund solar projects. [8] Furthermore, India boasts the first and only fully solar powered airport in the world and has a fully solar powered train station.
India has a large agricultural supply which creates agro-residues. This residue can be a great supply of power. Current estimates state that India has the potential to produce 19500 MW of power from biomass sources. Common materials found in India that can be used as biomass sources are cotton stalk, rice husk, coconut shells, bagasse, straw, soya husk, coffee waste, sawdust, jute wastes, and groundnut shells. [9]
India is no exception to countries that need to make major changes to their power supply before they run out of their primary sources. There is also a political push to reduce usage of fossil fuel and increase the use of renewable energy. India has proposed large plans and taken major steps to increase use and production of renewable energy. Fig. 1 shows the breakdown of energy usage in India by fuel type as of 2019. [10] While the right steps are taken, it seems India may fall short of their targets and may need to make more radical changes in order to fully become independent of coal and other non-renewable fuels.
© Ashwyn Sam. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] P. Oskarsson et al., "India's New Coal Geography: Coastal Transformations, Imported Fuel and State-Business Collaboration in the Transition to More Fossil Fuel Energy," Energy Res. Soc. Sci. 73, 101903 (2021).
[2] "Statistical Review of World Energy - 2021: India's Energy Market in 2020," British Petroleum, 2021.
[3] "India Energy Outlook," International Energy Agency, 2015.
[4] N. H. Ravindranath, R. K. Chaturvedi, and P. Kumar, "Paris Agreement; Research, Monitoring and Reporting Requirements for India," Curr. Sci. 112, 916 (2017).
[5] U. Saklani and C. Tortajada, "India's Development Cooperation in Bhutan's Hydropower Sector: Concerns and Public Perceptions," Water Altern. 12, 734 (2019).
[6] D. Sangroya and J. K. Nayak, "Development of Wind Energy in India," Int. J. Renew. Energy Res. 5, 1 (2015).
[7] P. K. Rathore et al., "Solar Power Utility Sector in india: Challenges and Opportunities," Renew. Sust. Energy Rev. 81, 2703 (2018).
[8] V. Khare, S. Nema, and P. Baredar, "Status of Solar Wind Renewable Energy in India," Renew. Sust. Energy Rev. 27, 1 (2013).
[9] M. Hiloidhari, D. Das, and D. C. Baruah, "Bioenergy Potential From Crop Residue Biomass in India," Renew. Sust. Energy Rev. 32, 504 (2014).
[10] "Country Analysis Executive Summary: India," U.S. Energy Information Administration, September 2020.