As India, the world’s third-largest energy guzzler, charts its clean energy transition, businessline in a podcast with the Council for Energy, Environment & Water (CEEW) Fellow and Director (Research Coordination) Karthik Ganesan analysed the strengths and weaknesses of the country’s efforts in meeting its Net Zero ambitions.

Ganesan applauded India’s efforts in expanding its solar and wind energy installed capacity, particularly chasing the target of 175 gigawatts (GW) of non-fossil fuel capacity by December 2022. However, he was of the view that the pertinent question is that what does the country require to accelerate this transition.

He makes a well-grounded argument that with respect to technology, particularly manufacturing of advanced technology and materials, India generally faces a challenge to raise adequate financial resources, given its inability to attract the level of funding that is available in the developed world such as the US or the EU.

Emphasising that India is a market with immense potential, Ganesan pointed out that there is a need to reimagine the transition process. He also highlighted the need to explore avenues to bring down the risk perception for investors in key areas. For instance, with the consumption mandates for new fuels such as solar or wind power or green hydrogen, how can it be ensured that the entity which consumes this fuel has the capacity to pay for its usage.

Ganesan aptly narrates India’s current position in terms of expanding solar manufacturing base while keeping prices of key input items in check. He feels that India is caught between a rock and a hard place. A position, where it wants to expand domestic industry, but the cost of which is going to be higher, and at the same time, it needs install at a pace that is never seen before, around 50 GW annually.

A critical point raised by Ganesan is that energy transition has to be a holistic endeavour. It should not stop at green energy, but prod policy formulators and implementors to review the current Indian urban planning. The policies should address the overall theme of how to make cities more green and liveable.

(Host: Rishi Ranjan Kala, Producers: Jayapriyanka J, Nabodita Ganguly)

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About the State Of The Economy podcast

India’s economy has been hailed as the bright spot amid the general gloom that seems to have enveloped the rest of the world. But several of its sectors still stutter about even while others seem set to fire on all cylinders. To help you make sense of the bundle of contradictions that the country is, businessline brings you podcasts with experts ranging from finance and marketing to technology and start-ups.

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