The government is aiming to increase the amount of renewable energy sources in its electricity mix. They have targets of 23% by 2025, and 31% by 2050. In addition, the country's petroleum energy mix is predicted to decline by around 20% by 2050. Over the past few decades, there has been an increase in energy demand. But, the country's demand for energy is increasing and fossil energy production cannot meet it. This has led to an increase in import petroleum. These concerns were addressed by the government which is implementing policies to promote renewable energy sources across the country.
India's ambitious Re Targets
India's ambitious RE targets indicate a bright future for the sector. Numerous long-term investors have been attracted to India, including sovereign entities as well as global private equity firms and major oil and gas companies. Global investor interest has accelerated and the sector has seen a rapid rise in recent years. India's potential for RE is immense, if implemented successfully.
The Government of India has set ambitious RE targets for 2030, with the aim of 450 gigawatts of capacity installed. India's largest RE resource will likely be from wind solar hybrids. The country will need to have supportive policies and use innovative technologies in order to reach this ambitious target. For example, rooftop solar plus storage is one of the fastest-growing segments of the renewable energy market in India, with the lowest cost per kWh in the world.
Costs for achieving retargets
The Southern African Development Community or SADC is a region around the globe that has ambitious targets in renewable energy. The region has ambitious targets to reach full energy access by 2040 and a 53% share in renewable energy capacity. With investments of almost $53 billion, it hopes to achieve these goals. But, there have been problems along its way. The COVID-19 outbreak, which seriously impacted the sector, was one of them. This pandemic resulted in lockdowns that disrupted all aspects of the electricity value chain. This caused delays in RE project development as well as import restrictions, and logistics for equipment procurement. These delays also prevented the SADC fully benefiting from the policy initiatives to encourage private sector engagement.
Economic growth is affected by retargets
Many jurisdictions have adopted RETs to increase the share of renewable energy in total energy production. These targets will accelerate the expansion and address climate change quickly. But, these targets require radical changes to the system of energy. Although RETs can be a useful tool for policy, there are significant drawbacks.
First of all, goals create pressures psychologically to act quickly. This can lead to decision-makers losing sight of the main objectives. For instance, the Renewable Energy Directive may increase net carbon emissions and deforestation. This could lead to unwise tradeoffs.
Retargets have an impact on carbon emissions
To reduce carbon emissions, retargets were introduced. But these targets are not without their limitations. One is that the carbon efficiency of different regions differs. For example, in China, the eastern region has a high carbon emissions efficiency, while the western region has a low one. This means that retargets are not proven effective.
It is now a pressing issue to balance economic growth and ecological management. To have an ecologically sustainable society, it is crucial to improve carbon efficiency. This objective can be met by developing renewable energy sources. It will also provide solid basis for decision-making.