New Delhi, Mar 13 (KNN) India must scale up to 600 gigawatts (GW) of non-fossil-fuel capacity by 2030 to meet its growing electricity demand reliably and affordably, according to a report by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). This expansion will require significant investments in energy storage systems.
The study projects that deploying 600 GW of clean energy across more states could reduce generation costs by 6-18 paise per unit, eliminate the need for new coal plants, and save between Rs 13,000 crore and Rs 42,400 crore in power procurement costs.
Additionally, it could create between 53,000 and 100,000 additional jobs while cutting carbon emissions by 9-16 per cent compared to FY24.
Achieving the 600 GW non-fossil capacity target would necessitate substantial investments in flexible resources, including 70 GW of four-hour battery energy storage systems, 13 GW of pumped storage hydro, and retrofitting 140 GW of coal capacity to ensure grid stability.
The report highlights that the rapidly declining cost of battery storage favours a high renewable energy pathway. In the last two years alone, tariffs for stand-alone battery storage have dropped by 65 per cent without any subsidy support.
The Indian government’s recent mandate requiring all future solar project tenders to include energy storage systems with at least two hours of capacity represents another positive step toward improving grid stability.
CEEW recommends several policy measures to accelerate India’s clean power transition.
The Ministry of Power must set a clear target of 600 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030 and integrate it into the National Electricity Policy while promoting a technologically and geographically diverse renewable energy portfolio.
The report suggests that the Ministry of Power, in collaboration with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and other agencies, should identify innovative models to utilise existing infrastructure by co-locating wind and storage with solar projects.
It also recommends implementing a Uniform RE Tariff to address concerns about falling clean energy prices, innovating bidding and contract designs, and unlocking de-risked merchant capacity for renewable energy sales.
If power demand continues to outpace current projections due to a warming planet or strong economic growth over the coming five years, the report indicates that a high renewable energy pathway of 600 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030 offers the most viable solution, primarily due to cheaper renewable energy resources.
This would include 377 GW of solar, 148 GW of wind, 62 GW of hydro, and 20 GW of nuclear energy.
(KNN Bureau)
