Renewable energy and vision for a self-sufficient India

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The Modi Government at the Centre and the State Governments should implement Renewable Energy Law. (Photo: PTI)

Over 40 per cent of rural and 6 per cent of urban Indian households don’t have electricity. Most of our vehicles run on imported oil. Then there is the problem of climate change. Protecting environment and green India are also our priorities. India has the solution to solve both the problems at the same time – by developing renewable energy.
Promoting solar power, wind energy, geothermal and conventional hydropower can enable India to meet its future energy demand. If India switches from coal and oil, it is possible that 70 per cent of the electricity and 35 per cent of its total energy can be derived from renewable resources by 2030.
According to a report in CleanTechnica, because India is blessed with 300-330 sunny days a year, it can easily generate 5000 trillion kWh of solar energy, which is higher than India’s total yearly energy consumption. Using the country’s deserts and farm land, India could easily install around 1,000 GW of solar generation – equivalent to around four times the current peak power demand (India’s present generation capacity is about 210 GW). With wind energy along the 7,500 km of coastline, India can generate up to 170 GW. Hydropower can generate an estimated 148 GW, Geothermal around 10.7 GW and Tidal power about 15 GW, said a report of the environmental group World Wide Fund for Nature.
Every rooftop across the country can have solar panels, making every household self-sufficient. This will also facilitate nationwide charging of electric cars from solar panels on roofs, and there will be solar-powered electric vehicle charging stations around the country.
The Modi Government at the Centre and the State Governments should implement Renewable Energy Law aimed at easing the permitting process, and to provide start-up capital to promote the growth of renewable energy. Renewable resources are the most attractive investment because they will also provide long-term economic growth for India, creating millions of new jobs. This will enable India to take advantage of abundantly available renewable energy sources.
Darshan Goswami, Project Manager at the United States Department of Energy, in his piece on Energy Central rightly argues that the barriers to implementing the renewable energy plan are seen to be primarily social and political, not technological or economic.