With targets of 23% for 2025 and 31% for 2050, the government is trying increase its use of renewable energy sources. In addition, the country's petroleum energy mix is predicted to decline by around 20% by 2050. In the last decade, the country has experienced an increase in energy consumption. The country has a growing need for petroleum imports as fossil energy production can't meet this demand. These concerns have been addressed by the government who has introduced a series of policies that encourage national use of renewable energy sources.
India's ambitious targets for resurgence
India's ambitious RE targets point to a positive future for the sector. Multiple long-term investors including sovereign entities, global equity firms, major oil and natural gas producers, and national conglomerates have flocked to the country. The sector has enjoyed a meteoric rise in recent years, with global investor interest accelerating. If implemented successfully, India's RE opportunities are enormous.
The Government of India (GOI) has established ambitious RE targets by 2030. This includes a goal of 450 megawatts of capacity. India's majority of RE capacity will likely be generated from wind-solar hybrids. To meet this ambitious target, the country will need supportive policies and innovative technologies. For example, rooftop solar plus storage is one of the fastest-growing segments of the renewable energy market in India, with the lowest cost per kWh in the world.
Costs for achieving retargets
The Southern African Development Community or SADC is a region around the globe that has ambitious targets in renewable energy. The region is well on its way to achieving full energy access and a share of 53% renewable energy by 2040. With an investment of $53billion, the region hopes to reach these targets. However, there have been some difficulties along the way. These include the COVID-19 Pandemic which severely affected the energy sector. This pandemic led to lockdowns that disrupted the entire electricity value chain. This resulted in delays in RE project development, as well as import restrictions and equipment procurement logistics. These delays also prevented SADC to fully benefit from policy initiatives that encourage private-sector engagement.
Impact of re targets on economic growth
Many jurisdictions have adopted RETs to increase the share of renewable energy in total energy production. These targets aim at accelerating the expansion of renewables as well as addressing climate change promptly. These targets will require significant changes to the energy system in order to be achieved. While RETs may be useful tools for policy purposes, they have many practical drawbacks.
First of all, goals create pressures psychologically to act quickly. This could lead to decision-makers losing sight on the essential objectives. The Renewable Energy Directive, for example, could increase net carbon emissions as well as deforestation. This could lead you to making unwise trade-offs.
Carbon emissions: Impact of retargeting
Retargets have been introduced to cut carbon emissions. However, these targets have some limitations. For one, each region has a different carbon efficiency. For example, in China, the eastern region has a high carbon emissions efficiency, while the western region has a low one. The effectiveness of retargets has not been proven to be effective.
It is now a pressing issue to balance economic growth and ecological management. For an ecologically sustainable economy, increasing carbon efficiency is essential. The development of renewable energy sources is a way to achieve this goal and can provide a solid foundation for decision-making.