India has set an ambitious rooftop solar photovoltaic target of 40 GW by 2021-22. However, with only approximately 6.8 GW installed till date, it looks increasingly difficult to reach the target in less than a year. One of the primary deterrents is the reluctance of distribution companies (discoms) to promote the rooftop solar segment. The finances of most discoms are in a beleaguered state. This is due to free power for agriculture, unmitigated aggregate technical and commercial losses, and failing cross-subsidy regimes.

A monthly newsletter featuring CSTEP commentary, publications, events, and other developments.

India has set some ambitious renewable energy (RE) targets for itself — 175 GW by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030.

This is CSTEP's Annual Report for the year 2020-21.

In this year’s annual report, we look at a Resilient CSTEP. We did not let the uncertainties and complexities posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to affect our work, which continued unhindered without compromising on the heath and well-being of our employees. All our Sectors and support functions worked in harmony to ensure seamless transition to a Work-From-Home arrangement. CSTEP continued to create an impact and enrich the lives of people through new initiatives and collaborations. 

India’s power sector has been witnessing a large share of renewable energy (RE) being integrated into the grid. This is expected to grow at a high pace in the future as well. With increasing RE share, storage, especially pumped-hydro energy storage (PHES), plays a key role in dispatching the energy from RE resources, peak load shaving, frequency regulation, voltage support, providing round-the-clock support, and balancing the grid, among others.

Air pollution impacts human health, quality of living, climate, and the economy (Hystad et al., 2020). To assess its impact and facilitate mitigation actions, quantification of air pollution is vital. Measurements are the most accurate way of quantifying air pollution. Many countries conduct regulatory measurements of various air pollutants (e.g., fine and respirable particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and surface ozone) and make the data available publicly.

India, which is the second-largest coal producer and both the third-largest producer and consumer of electricity in the world, has committed to an RE-dominant future with an ambitious target of 450 GW of RE capacity by 2030. With the global push for clean energy and falling RE costs, there is no backing away from this goal now. Given this, what is the contribution that state generating companies (GENCOs), mainly operating thermal capacity, can make for this transition to be successful?

State-owned electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs) continue to be plagued with financial problems. This is so despite efforts by both central and state governments to bail out the beleaguered DISCOMs with rescue packages. In a last-ditch effort, the Central Government announced INR 3.05 lakh crore in the Union Budget 2021–22 to redeem the utilities.