Setting up barriers will not help net zero goals: Power Minister RK Singh

In a veiled attack on countries imposing barriers on manufacturing green hydrogen, Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister RK Singh said on Wednesday that such acts will go against the cause of going green and net zero carbon emissions.

The Minister was addressing a three-day international conference on green hydrogen (ICGH 2023), where experts from countries such as India, the US, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Africa, etc, will deliberate on various aspects of the green hydrogen value chain.

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“The solution is not setting up barriers like some countries are doing. If you set up barriers, then you are not helping the cause of net zero. We shall get there, and your barriers won’t work. If you put up barriers, we can put up barriers as well. If we put barriers up, you will miss the biggest market globally outside of China. So to the countries that are putting up barriers, that’s my message,” Singh said.

Trade barriers

In the past as well, the Power Minister has come down heavily on instances of countries trying to impose barriers on various aspects of the green hydrogen value chain.

Citing “ridiculous” examples of barriers being imposed, the Minister pointed out an instance where one region said that the distance between the point of generation of renewable energy and the location of electrolysers should not be more than 500 km. “Now, tell me, is there any logic in it? We (India) transport electricity across thousands of kilometers. What is the point of saying that the distance between the RE capacity and the electrolyser should be only 500 km?. This is a barrier,” he added.

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Singh also came down heavily on some countries initiating talks on low-carbon hydrogen rather than concentrating their energies on manufacturing green hydrogen.

“We have reports of countries saying, ‘don’t talk about green hydrogen, talk about low-carbon hydrogen’. If you talk about low-carbon hydrogen, you are not talking about going green or net zero. If you make blue hydrogen, where will you store carbon dioxide? You say we can sequester it but on commercial-scale, I’ve yet to see it, and the guarantee that it will not leak out is questionable,” he added.

India’s importance

Singh emphasised that India will soon be the largest manufacturing base for solar modules and cells, barring China, which presents a novel opportunity for investors to set up bases in the country for the green energy transition.

Currently, India has 25 gigawatts (GW) of manufacturing capacity and another 35–40 GW are under construction for solar cells and modules. India’s cost of setting up RE capacity is the lowest in the world at $6,00,000 per megawatt (MW).

“This is a different government and we have changed the way we do business. We believe our business is to ensure that you can do your business at the lowest cost,” Singh assured the conference delegates.