Renewable Energy and Energy Security in India: Challenges, Storage & Policy Reforms

Under the Paris Agreement, India has updated its National Determined Contributions (NDCs) to aim for 60% non-fossil fuel power capacity by 2035.

Evolving Concept of Energy Security

• Energy security now extends beyond mere availability of energy resources.
• It includes resilience against external disruptions, such as supply shocks.
• Domestic capacity to sustain energy supply during crises has become crucial.

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India’s Updated Renewable Energy Targets

• India initially committed to achieving 50% installed power capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030.
• The updated NDC raises this ambition to around 60% non-fossil fuel capacity by 2035.
• This reflects India’s increasing emphasis on renewable energy transition and decarbonisation.

Gap Between Installed Capacity and Actual Generation

• India has achieved over 250 GW of non-fossil installed capacity.
• However, this contributes only about 25% to total electricity generation.
• This highlights the issue of underutilisation of renewable infrastructure.

Intermittency in Renewable Energy

• Renewable sources like solar and wind are inherently intermittent.
• Solar power is available only during daytime, while wind energy depends on wind conditions.
• This variability creates challenges in ensuring continuous power supply.

Regional Energy Imbalance and Curtailment

• States like Bihar, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh face rising electricity demand.
• States like Rajasthan and Gujarat often experience curtailment of excess renewable energy.
• This paradox arises due to inadequate transmission and last-mile connectivity.

Need for Energy Storage Solutions

• Excess renewable energy can be stored using battery storage systems.
• Storage helps in managing intermittency and ensuring supply during non-generation hours.
• However, India currently faces limited battery infrastructure and high costs.

The Paradox of Waste

• States like Rajasthan and Gujarat often waste (curtail) solar energy because they lack last-mile connectivity to transmit it to high-demand areas like Bihar and Jharkhand.

Pricing and Grid Stability

• The grid faces immense pressure transitioning from solar power during the day to coal at night.
• There is a need for separate pricing for “peak demand” availability and “flexibility” to stabilize the grid, similar to models in the UK and USA.

Financial Health of Discoms

• Power distribution companies are losing trillions due to cross-subsidization (charging industries more to provide free power to others).

Proposed Solutions

• Feeder-level Segregation: Separating agricultural electricity lines from residential lines.
• Solar Micro-grids: Connecting separated agricultural feeders to solar plants under the PM-KUSUM scheme.

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Conclusion

Energy security requires moving beyond “installed capacity” to focus on battery storage, grid flexibility, and the financial reform of Discoms.

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