Electricity in India is in transition and is expected to form the backbone of the country's entire energy system as carbon-neutrality takes centre stage.
“The government (has) ambitious energy transition target of 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030, 100 per cent rail electrification by 2023, to switching to e-vehicles in the next 10 years. Initiatives for electric cooking are also underway. Electricity will soon form the backbone of the entire energy system as carbon-neutrality takes centre stage,” Claudio Facchin, Global CEO of Hitachi ABB Power Grids told BusinessLine .
“In this regard, considerable investment is needed in grid transmission infrastructure, about $60-80 billion over the next five years is required as per available industry analysis, to keep pace with growing low-cost renewable capacity so that new households can afford to buy electricity,” he added.
From a global perspective, Claudio Facchin said the trend from the past few years has been of increased penetration of renewables in the energy mix – more and more countries committing to decarbonisation, being careful of the environment in economic development. In this awareness, the role of technology is crucial and must be duly considered.
He said “As we decentralise power, there is a greater need for intelligent technology to ensure predictability of renewable resources, which by nature are intermittent and unpredictable compared with traditional sources such as fossil fuels. It matters what investments we are making today toward T&D optimisation and modernisation to ensure electricity to the last mile.”
At the centre of energy transition is electrification, the importance of reliable electricity systems and the critical role it plays in an expanding power network is also crucial.
Smart technologies
“Encouragingly, innovation is also accelerating and we see deployment of smart technologies – whether on the backend with interconnections with HVDC and power quality devices or on the edge of the grid with say, microgrids and battery storage – at scale and at the speed needed. We are seeing this across markets, across most countries, and most certainly in India,” he explained.
Simultaneous digitalisation of the grid is equally important to provide greater transparency across the value chain – building an intelligent system that better incorporates asset monitoring, evolving consumer behaviour and new demand loads.
“At Hitachi ABB Power Grids, we are working with customers across utility, industry, transport, and infrastructure sectors to co-create innovative digital solutions that can ensure a smooth energy transition,” said Claudio Facchin.