India has the world’s fastest growing economy and are dramatically increasing their energy needs. The future of energy in India could play out in any number of ways and the world should be paying attention. With the second largest population in the world, whatever energy move India makes, it will have global effects. This report will focus on the fate of renewables in India, as investment in these renewables will have the greatest benefit for the environmental goals of not only India, but for the rest of the world as well.
India is already facing energy issues when electricity is observed. In 2009-2010, there was a 10 percent gap, a 84TWh deficit, between India’s total energy needs and their supply (Indian Renewable Energy Status Report). With growing numbers of issues such as voltage fluctuations, blackouts, etc, India must close this gap for the overall welfare of their people, and investment in renewable power in increasingly looking like the best way to go.
Are renewables in India even viable? As far as natural resources are concerned, India is in a very good position. Some parts of the country receive some of the highest solar irradiation worldwide. The miles of coastline offer vast opportunities for wind power both on and offshore. Also, considering the fact the India is currently around 80 percent rural, the potential to produce biomass for burning is tremendous (Indian Renewable Energy Status Report). However, this brings up another issue India will have to face when implementing new energy policies. The nature of India is variability and that is no different when it comes to energy sources. Therefore, there cannot be blanket investment in one type of energy for the country as a whole. Instead, local governments should increasingly play a role in deciding the energy fate of their particular region so that the resources in each region are being used to their full potential so energy can be produced most efficiently,
This investment in renewable energy is important for India as they look towards an energy independent future. Currently, India imports over two-thirds of their oil from foreign countries, particularly the Middle East. This leaves them vulnerable to market fluctuations and price gouging that can be a critical blow to their developing economy. These price shocks are becoming even more frequent as the global demand for oil increases. It is expected that by 2030, the price of oil will have risen by 46 percent. On the flip side, the price of renewable technologies is decreasing. In the same amount of time, the price of photovoltaic’s is expected to come down by half (Indian Renewable Energy Status Report).
Renewable energies can also address some of the inequality issues that saturate Indian society. Localized renewable energies can bring energy to the rural people who currently lack the roads and grids necessary for receiving energy from centralized power plants, such as coal fire power plants. This is no small problem in India. Currently over 50 percent of people living in rural areas are living without electricity. An investment in renewable energies would also be an investment in closing this gap. With the ever-decreasing price of renewables, there is also the hope that electricity will be more affordable to all including both the urban and rural poor (Indian Renewable Energy Status Report).
Finally, investment in renewable energy will have the always-beneficial element of reducing lower greenhouse gas emissions. India has the potential to be a world leader in the renewable sector and thus a leader in the environmental movement. Currently India emits 4 percent of global greenhouse gases but when looking at per capita emission, they are only a quarter of the average global per capita emissions and one-tenth of what most developed nations are emitting per capita (Indian Renewable Energy Status Report). . If India could continue this trend of low per capita emissions and even improve upon it they could have a huge impact globally.
Already, India has begun to introduce more and more renewable energies into their grid. As of June 2010, 10 percent of India’s installed energy capacity was already renewable, wind energy being a large part of this category (Indian Renewable Energy Status Report). This investment is attracting investment from global countries looking to make renewables more viable on a global scale. If this trend continues, some of the economic burden of starting up these energy projects might be relieved from the Indian government. Furthermore, as new technologies are brought to India, their economy is boosted as new jobs are created. These jobs would be great assets to the Indian economy, one that is in transitions from reliance on the primary sector to the tertiary sector and the information age Indian Renewable Energy Status Report).
India has great potential for leading the way in renewable energy investment. With great natural resources all they need now is proper investment. As renewable prices come down and their economy grows, this seems more viable each day. It is in the best interest of the Indian government to make this investment now in order to become a world leader in the future.
Source: Indian Renewable Energy Status Report
Source: Indian Renewable Energy Status Report
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