Contrary to US President Donald Trump’s accusations, India’s pursuit of energy transformation is unfeigned. Three recent developments testify to this. First, India added more renewable energy (RE) capacity than conventional generation capacity in 2016-17. Second, RE tariff in the country dropped to a level that is cost competitive with coal-fired generation. Third, according to EY’s renewable energy country attractiveness index, India pipped the US to become the second most attractive country for RE investments. These developments make India a frontrunner in energy transformation, even before US’ retreat. While RE development has been a long-standing policy goal in India, much of it has been driven by the Central government, and at a modest pace. The current target, marking a quantum leap, is largely driven by individual leader push. Actual generation from proposed RE capacity is unclear due to uncertainties in capacity utilization factor. While RE capacity has increased by 134% over the last five years, actual generation from RE has increased by just 60%. To meet the global expectations, India needs much more proactive and creative actions. It needs to ensure that proposed RE capacity transforms the consumable energy mix. To do so, India must balance between complementing generation capacities rather than pushing for preferred technologies. In addition, given the unpredictability of RE generation, the time is ripe for storage capacity development. The proposed policy goal of electric vehicles is a welcome step, but it needs to be creatively used for storage, while reaping other co-benefits. Finally, the state must facilitate a domestic coalition for energy transformation, by aligning interests.

(Live Mint)