Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency

With an increasing number of countries setting strong net-zero targets, there is a global push for the gradual discontinuation of fossil-fuel usage and the large-scale adoption of renewable energy (RE). In this context, green hydrogen is seen as the fuel of the future, with various governments and energy companies betting on it.

In recent years, blockchain technology has made significant strides across various industries, from finance to supply chain management.

Novel and viable alternatives are warranted to achieve the 500 GW renewable energy target for 2030. Agrivoltaics (agriPV) is one such promising technology for optimising land usage by combining agriculture with PV.

Rooftop solar is expected to play a major role in India’s 280 GW solar target for 2030. However, only ~8 GW of the 40 GW target for 2022 has been achieved so far. The residential sector accounts for less than 20% of this installed capacity, despite being offered incentives such as net metering and a 20%–40% capital subsidy.

Of India’s nearly 62 GW installed solar capacity, about 50 GW is ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) plants. Recent trends show that obtaining land parcels for large solar projects is becoming increasingly difficult. Innovative and viable alternatives are needed to reach the 450 GW renewable energy (RE) target for 2030. Among the buzzwords circulating in the upper echelons of policy and decision-making is ‘agrivoltaics’. The concept aims to optimise land usage by combining agriculture with PV (agriPV).

India has set ambitious climate targets as part of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to tackle the climate crisis. These include short- and long-term measures such as reducing the emissions intensity by 45%, installing 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity, and achieving a net-zero economy by 2070.

An important step in this direction is the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill 2022, which was passed in the Rajya Sabha recently. 
 

India is the third-largest energy producer in the world and one of the top energy consumers. To build a pathway to clean energy transition, the country has made remarkable strides by putting in place a number of measures that support renewable energy production and research.

The clean energy transition is a revolutionary idea, which should be ingrained in policy, planning, and implementation for the country to effectively achieve its energy goals.

At the recently concluded 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), India submitted its long-term strategy to achieve zero emissions by 2070. A key feature of this strategy relates to increasing energy efficiency of industries and exploring decarbonisation options for hard-to-abate sectors, which draw roughly 50% of India’s natural gas, 25% of coal, and 20% of oil resources.

India continues to champion solar power in its future plans of a 500 GW non-fossil fuel energy installation target for 2030. One major challenge is the procurement of suitable land free of socioecological constraints for renewable energy capacity. An innovative solution is the integration of solar PV systems either along the side of roads or above (highway solar) or directly on their surface (on-road solar). These approaches have the potential to be utilized on all national highways and expressways.

At the COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, the Government of India revised its non-fossil energy targets for 2030 from 450 GW to 500 GW. To accomplish this, developing India’s solar potential is essential. Given the intermittent nature of renewable energy (RE) sources, we require energy storage systems (ESS) to maintain the power grid's security and dependability. Recent advancements in ESS technologies have resulted in a substantial decrease in capital cost, expanding market growth.