The government is trying to increase the proportion of renewable energy sources in its energy mix, with targets for 23% by 2025 and 31% by 2050. The petroleum energy mix will also be decreasing by around 20 percent by 2050. Over the last several decades, the country has seen a rising demand for energy. However, fossil energy production cannot keep up with the rising demand. Therefore, there is an increasing need to import petroleum. To address these concerns, the government is implementing a number of policies that will promote the use of renewable energy sources nationally.
India's ambitious re targets
India's ambitious RE target points to a promising future for this sector. Multiple long-term investors including sovereign entities, global equity firms, major oil and natural gas producers, and national conglomerates have flocked to the country. In recent years, the sector has seen an explosion in investor interest and a sharp increase in its value. India's potential for RE is immense, if implemented successfully.
The Government of India has established ambitious RE targets for 2030. They aim to have 450 gigawatts of installed capacity. The majority of India's RE capacity will be generated by wind and solar hybrids by then. To achieve this ambitious target, India will need support policies and innovative technologies. 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.
Retargeting costs
The Southern African Development Community (SADC), a region of the world with ambitious targets for renewable electricity, is one example. It is on track for full energy access and 53% of renewable energy capacity by 2040. With an investment of $53billion, the region hopes to reach these targets. However, the region has had some problems along the way, including the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted the energy sector severely. This pandemic led lockdowns that impacted the entire electricity value-chain. This led to delays for RE project development and import restrictions. It also affected logistics for equipment procurement. These delays also prevented SADC to fully benefit from policy initiatives that encourage private-sector engagement.
Economic growth and the impact of retargets
Many jurisdictions have adopted RETs to increase the share of renewable energy in total energy production. These targets aim to accelerate the expansion of renewables and address climate change in a timely manner. To reach these goals, significant changes will be required in the energy sector. While RETs can be useful as a policy tool, they also have significant practical drawbacks.
First of all targets cause psychological pressures to move quickly. This may cause decision-makers not to see the basic objectives. For instance, the Renewable Energy Directive threatens to increase net carbon emissions and deforestation. This could lead to unwise tradeoffs.
Carbon emissions: Impact of retargeting
To reduce carbon emissions, Retargets were established. However, these targets have some limitations. For one, each region has a different carbon efficiency. China's eastern region, for instance, has the highest carbon emissions efficiency. The western region has lower. The effectiveness of retargets has not been proven to be effective.
It is now a pressing issue to balance economic growth and ecological management. An essential criterion for an environmentally sustainable economy is to increase carbon efficiency. Developing renewable energy sources can help meet this objective and provide a sound basis for decision-making.