- There is a need to develop an indigenous solar power component industry in India
- The Government aims to have 450 GW of renewable energy and 300 GW of solar energy generation by 2030
- With an installed capacity of 7.3 GW of solar power across the country, India is the third-largest solar market in the world
The present pace of renewable energy growth in India might not suffice to meet the aggressive targets set by the government for the sector, said Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman of the NITI Aayog at a webinar on “Solar Energy: An Agent of Change”, organized by the Solar Energy Society of India on the occasion of its 42nd foundation day on Wednesday.
There is a need to develop an indigenous solar power component industry in India, but this would not be done in a protectionist regime, he said. However, to promote the domestic industry, the government was open to temporary protection to the industry with a sunset clause, said Kumar.
While the government aims to have 450 GW of renewable energy and 300 GW of solar energy generation by 2030, the present installed capacity of solar energy generation is 35GW, while that of wind is 38 GW, said, Kumar. India faced the problem of energy dualism, whereby a large part of the country was devoid of energy.
Nearly 52 percent Anaganwadis, and 48 percent of schools in rural India don’t have electricity connection, said Kumar.
According to a recent report by India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), as on April 30, 2020, the installed renewable energy capacity of India stood at 87.26 GW, of which, solar and wind comprised 34.81 GW and 37.74 GW, respectively. Biomass and small hydropower constituted 9.86 GW and 4.68 GW, respectively.
In 2019, India installed 7.3 GW of solar power across the country, establishing its position as the third-largest solar market in the world.
However, the prospects of self-sufficiency are the solar energy sector is fraught with challenges, with the biggest being India’s dependence upon China for components used in solar energy generation. India imported solar cells and modules worth $1,179.89 million from China between April-December 2019, R K Singh, minister for renewable energy minister, recently had said in Parliament.
In July 2018, the government had imposed a 25% safeguard duty on the import of solar cells from China, Malaysia, and developed countries.
The challenge in front of Indian solar power manufacturers was to produce solar power components at a globally competitive rate, as India should not achieve renewable energy targets solely on the basis of import, said Kumar.
“Coal is losing its premier position already. Coal accounts for 60 percent of primary energy, but soon the time will come when our significant coal reserves will be stranded. Even for coal, we will have to find new ways of coal gasification. Renewable energy is going to be the technology of choice and energy provider of tomorrow, ” said Kumar. Also, beyond the national grid, India must think in terms of South Asia grid, said Kumar.
Solar Energy Society of India President Prafulla Pathak presided over the function, where Ajay Prakash Shrivastava, Managing Director of Maharishi Solar, also the immediate Past President of SESI, Dr. Ashvini Kumar, Senior Director, Renewable Energy Technologies, TERI and Shailendra Sharma, Retired Chairman of Chattisgarh Power Corporation addressed the participants. G Sivaramakrishnan, Life Member & Solar Auditor moderated the Foundation Day Webinar.
The webinar is available over Youtube:-
https://youtu.be/I5upX_y5aRk
