Increasing coal-based generation may not be an impediment in achieving the green targets, if energy efficiency measures are used, says Ajay Mathur, Director-General of Bureau of Energy Efficiency. Mathur, who will soon take charge as the Director-General of The Energy Resource Institute (TERI), and is part of the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change, spoke to BusinessLine on how the government’s targets for reducing emission intensity is achievable, if the right steps are taken by all the stakeholders. Excerpts:

Given that the intended nationally determined contribution targets for 2030 are higher than what was committed in Copenhagen, how achievable are they?

Copenhagen’s targets were for 2020. This one is for 2030. So it is doable. But, there would be some special efforts required to do it.

First of all, the energy efficiency effort would need to increase. We need good business models for this. What is happening with LED bulbs (light-emitting diode) needs to be replicated for air-conditioners, which is the single largest energy consuming appliance.

Secondly, we need to promote use of bio-mass. Nearly a fifth of the people use bio-mass inefficiently and if they move to LPG and kerosene it would mean more carbon emissions. There is zero effort right now to use bio-mass efficiently and there needs to be a lot more effort there.

Third point is for renewable energy, we need good business models to bring down tariffs, yet provide a good return for investors. Finally, a lot of investment needs to go in for research and development for energy efficient equipment. If we do all of these, the targets are c achievable.

Are we on track to have 40 per cent of the energy mix coming from renewable sources by 2030?

The challenge in renewable energy is the business model. A workable business model has to be in place. We have RPO (renewable purchase obligations) which increase volumes and decrease tariffs. Such obligations need to be increased so that investment gets accelerated. People will invest in energy anyway, but the pace needs to increase.

India also plans to ramp up coal-based power generation in the same time period. So how does that fit in?

In 2030, the country’s electricity requirement is going to be 3-4 times of what it is today. Today, we require one trillion units of electricity annually. If we are energy efficient we would require three trillion units by 2030, and if not then we need four trillion units. To do that, we will need to set up all forms of electricity generation.

The reality is there is a limit to the amount of hydro plants that can be set up due to land acquisition and environmental concerns. There is a limit on gas-based power due to the non-availability of domestic gas.

Nuclear is not easy to set up and there is a lot of opposition to it. So, coal has to form a large part of the energy mix. The good thing is that the INDC says we intend to have more renewable energy capacity addition than coal.

How do you think the developed world will view this?

It depends on the perspective they have. For energy services, you need energy. What we have to ensure is all new industries, homes, commercial spaces that come up are more and more energy efficient.

Apart from that, if someone was expecting zero coal from us, that is unrealistic and they will be disappointed.

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