India's Green Energy Transition

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) industries are still majorly dependent on fossil fuels for their energy requirements, making them particularly susceptible to increasing fuel prices. With energy costs having a substantial share in the overall manufacturing costs, the need for sustainable alternatives is crucial. Decarbonisation of MSMEs is necessary to reduce fossil fuel dependency in the industrial sector.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are a technologically evolving industry that can help reduce fossil-fuel consumption and the associated import

While clean power generation is crucial, India’s energy transition requires concerted efforts from all actors in the power sector value chain. This book chapter explored the critical role of India’s distribution companies (DISCOMs) where operational, financial, and political challenges accumulate. After presenting the institutional genesis of Indian DISCOMs, we discussed these issues and shed light on the strengths and opportunities of DISCOMs in enabling a successful transition to a clean energy future.

The progress towards India’s ambitious net-zero goals requires that all states contribute to it. Some states have been quite proactive, announcing their own (state) net-zero targets. Kerala is one of the first states to do this, besides Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and a few more. While India has pledged to achieve net zero by 2070, Kerala aspires to do so by 2050, along with an aim to meet 100% of its energy needs through renewable energy (RE) sources by 2040.

India’s nationally determined contribution (NDC) target has been updated to achieve 50% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are a technologically evolving industry that can help reduce fossil-fuel dependency and the associated trade deficit.
EVs can also help the country achieve its net-zero goals and improve the deteriorating urban air quality.

As India fully embraces the renewable energy (RE) transition and works to achieve its energy targets, harnessing the potential of artificial
intelligence (AI) can cause a transformative shift in the energy sector and pave the way for a smart energy future.

India is endowed with a 71 GW offshore wind potential, as per the assessment by the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), but the country is yet to set up its first offshore wind plant. In a timely move, the Government of India has initiated bids for offshore wind development of a 4 GW capacity recently.

In recent years, there has been a lot of buzz around buying an EV. The major reasons cited for an EV transition include savings on fuel expense and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Although these are notable reasons, the question persists — can EVs offer something substantial to the nation as a whole in the coming decades?

By February 2024, India's biomass power capacity had surged to 10,845 MW as per the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). This surge in biomass power is crucial for India as it aims to meet 50% of its energy requirements from renewables.