CHASING THE SUN: TRENDS POWERING INDIA'S GREEN TRANSITION

Achieving consistent 24x7 green power requires integration of an array of technological solutions, including multi-location, wind, solar, hydro, pump hydro, batteries, and even a modest utilisation of gas

- Pratik Agarwal

INDIA’S ENERGY AMBITIONS are as vast as its landscape. Prime Minister Modi’s bold 500 GW renewable energy target by 2030, nearly threefold the 175 GW installed today, signals a dramatic shift from coal-fuelled growth to a future powered by sunshine. But this renewable revolution won’t be driven by wind farms and solar panels alone. Three critical trends are reshaping the energy landscape, promising to ensure reliable, equitable, and sustainable power for the world’s second-most populous nation.

The Rise of RTC (Round-the-Clock) Power

IRENA’s Renewable Capacity Statistics 2023 report revealed a remarkable shift. An impressive 83 per cent of all new power capacity added last year was from renewable sources. Evacuation of this copious amount of green power, however, involves two fundamental aspects. Firstly, it involves the physical transfer of green electrons originating from renewable rich locations like Bikaner (Rajasthan), Khavda (Gujarat) and Gadag (Karnataka) into the grid so that it can be consumed in load centres like Maharashtra, UP, West Bengal. This process primarily revolves around the building of large cross-country transmission lines. If we go by the IEA report, the world will need more than 80 million km of grids by 2040, equivalent of the entire existing global grid, to achieve climate goals.