The government is working to increase the percentage of renewable energy sources within its energy mix. It has targets for 23% in 2025 and 31% in 2050. The oil-based energy mix is also expected to shrink by around 20% by 2050. Over the past few decades, there has been an increase in energy demand. However, fossil energy production is unable to meet the growing demand. This means that there is an increased need for imported petroleum. These concerns have been addressed by the government who has introduced a series of policies that encourage national use of renewable energy sources.
India's ambitious targets for resurgence
India's ambitious RE goals point to a positive future. 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 RE opportunities can be huge if it is implemented successfully.
The Government of India (GOI) has established ambitious RE targets by 2030. This includes a goal of 450 megawatts of capacity. By then, the majority of RE capacity in India will likely come 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 of achieving re targets
The Southern African Development Community or SADC is a region around the globe that has ambitious targets in renewable energy. This region is on track towards full energy access in 2040. It also has 53% of the world's renewable energy potential. With investments of almost $53 billion, it hopes to achieve these goals. 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: Impact of retargets
Many jurisdictions have adopted the RETs in an effort to increase the percentage of renewable energy in total power production. These targets aim at accelerating the expansion of renewables as well as addressing climate change promptly. However, achieving these targets will require unprecedented changes in the energy system. While RETs may be useful tools for policy purposes, they have many practical drawbacks.
First of all, goals create pressures psychologically to act quickly. This could lead to decision-makers losing sight on the essential objectives. For instance, the Renewable Energy Directive may increase net carbon emissions and deforestation. This could lead us to make unwise tradeoffs.
The impact of re-targets on carbon emissions
To cut carbon emissions, retargets have been established. These targets come with a few limitations. For one, each region has a different carbon efficiency. For example, in China, the eastern region has a high carbon emissions efficiency, while the western region has a low one. As such, the effectiveness of retargets is not yet proven.
As a result, balancing economic growth with ecological management has become an urgent issue. For an ecologically sustainable economy, increasing carbon efficiency is essential. This objective can be met by developing renewable energy sources. It will also provide solid basis for decision-making.