India's Green Energy Transition

A clean, cheap, and reliable energy source can increase power supply to farmers while alleviating subsidy burdens and reducing greenhouse emissions. These are precisely the goals of the Central Government’s Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) scheme launched in 2019 with a budget outlay of INR 34,422 crores. But as the March 2026 end date is rapidly approaching, the scheme has achieved only 5% of its targeted 34.8 GW solar deployment.

The global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels continue to rise, driven by rising energy use. Rooftop photovoltaic (RTPV) systems are an effective way to reduce emissions and, consequently, the carbon footprint for residential consumers. The use of behind-the-metre (BTM) energy storage with RTPV is a flexible and dependable method for generating electricity as it provides power to the customer even if there is an outage from the utility grid. It also reduces reliance on the utility through savings in the electricity bill and reducing CO2 emissions.

The future energy mix of India is poised for a transformative shift. However, the transformation is dependent on electricity demand growth, solar and wind capacity expansion, and phasing out of coal assets. This paper discusses three scenarios—BAU, pessimistic, and optimistic—for 2047 and 2070, considering technological changes in the renewable energy (RE) sector. The methodology involves computing installed capacity and energy mix using growth/decay rates and capacity utilisation/plant load factors, respectively, for different energy sources.

Driving cycles or drive cycles are plots of speed versus time used in vehicle testing to estimate fuel consumption and emissions. They are representative of a typical driving pattern of a vehicle type on a route (terrain). For developing drive cycles, the speed data of a vehicle are collected by the car chase method or using on-board devices (such as global positioning system devices); on-board devices provide more accurate speed data at second-by-second intervals than the car chase method. We used on-board diagnostic (OBD) devices to capture accurate speed–time profiles.

India’s ambitious national goals under the Viksit Bharat and Atmanirbhar Bharat programmes focus on continuous economic growth and alleviating equity and poverty issues. Energy, being the most important element driving economic growth, faces challenges like increasing demand, climate change, and pollution. The PAT mechanism under the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency aims to improve energy efficiency in industrial sectors. It involves setting energy-saving targets, implementing measures, and trading Energy Saving Certificates (ESC erts).

India is ranked fourth globally in installed renewable energy (RE) capacity. Yet, the country has achieved only 32% of its RE target (500 GW by 2030) as of 30 November 2024. While decisions and actions at the central level are crucial, there is a need to focus on sub-national efforts as India is a diverse country with each state having unique challenges and opportunities that are shaped by its geography, resources, and consumer mix.

At the recently concluded 29th Conference of the Parties or COP29, several critical issues were discussed. Nuclear energy was also a key topic, following the COP28 commitment by 22 countries to triple nuclear capacity by 2050. This year saw more countries entering the above commitment, taking the total count to 31, while the discussions mostly delved into the details of advancing nuclear energy, emphasising strategies for attracting investments, strengthening cross-border partnerships and identifying ways to deploy small modular reactors (SMRs) for energy-intensive sectors.

The 2019 Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) scheme aims to enhance energy security for farmers, while promoting the use of renewable energy (RE) in the agriculture sector. Of its three components, Component A focuses on the installation of decentralised grid-connected RE-based power plants, with capacities ranging from 500 kW to 2 MW, by farmers on their land. The component can provide an additional, stable stream of income to farmers through the provision of selling the excess electricity generated to the grid.

The Government of India has set ambitious goals to ramp up a range of clean technologies by 2030 to increase energy independence, security, and access while promoting industrial development and reducing air pollution and GHG emissions. To deliver on these goals, the government has introduced a suite of financial and non-financial support measures. But will these measures be sufficient to reach the goals in full and on time?

Industry leaders pioneering the use of hydrogen to decarbonise the steel industry met on Monday in Delhi to discuss its potential and challenges. The event was organised by the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), a science and technology-based think tank, to launch its report Advanced Process Simulation Modelling for Hydrogen Application in Steel and Cement – A Technical and Economic Assessment.