Why in news?
Union Power Ministry announced it would overshoot the target of installing renewable energy sources by 2022.
What is the actual status of renewable energy installations?
- In 2015 Union government has announced 175 GW of renewable energy installations, recently the target has been increased to 225 GW.
- If India hits the 175 GW target, it stands to meet its greenhouse-gas emission goal under the Paris climate agreement.
- Of the current goal of 100 GW from solar energy by 2022, 40 GW is to come from rooftop installations, and 60 GW from large solar parks.
- But India has missed several interim milestones since it announced its 175 GW target.
- The obstacles have capped capacity addition to 69 GW till date, with India missing its 2016 and 2017 milestones.
- The misses happened despite renewable capacity being augmented at a blistering pace.
What are the challenges in achieving the ambitious target?
- Lower Margins - Wind and solar tariffs have hit such low levels that suppliers are working with wafer-thin margins.
- Rooftop solar clocked a compound annual growth rate of 117% between 2013 and 2017 India only hit 3% of its goal by the end of 2017.
- Policy Lacunas - In the solar sector alone, which the government is prioritising, policy uncertainties loom large.
- Homeowners aren’t warming up to the idea of installing photovoltaic panels on their terraces because the economics does not work out for them.
- Practical challenges - Technological and financial challenges remain, both wind and solar generation could be erratic.
What measures needs to be taken?
- India’s creaky electricity grid must be modernised to distribute such power efficiently.
- To hit its 2022 target of 175 GW, 106 GW will have to be added in four years, more than twice the capacity added in the last four.
- Manufacturers of photovoltaic (PV) cells have demanded a 70% safeguard duty on Chinese PV imports, and the Directorate General of Trade Remedies need take a call on this.
- Policies favouring homeowners to sell electricity back to the grid, needs to be incorporated with a nationwide “net-metering” policy.
Source: The Hindu
