With targets of 23% for 2025 and 31% for 2050, the government is trying increase its use of renewable energy sources. The petroleum energy mix will also be decreasing by around 20 percent by 2050. Over the last several decades, the country has seen a rising demand for energy. However, fossil energy production is not able to meet the demand, resulting in an increasing need for imported petroleum. 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 re targets
India's ambitious RE target points to a promising future for this 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. With global investor interest increasing, the sector's popularity has been on the rise. India's potential for RE is immense, if implemented successfully.
The Government of India has set ambitious RE targets for 2030, with the aim of 450 gigawatts of capacity installed. India's largest RE resource will likely be from wind solar hybrids. The country will need to have supportive policies and use innovative technologies in order to reach this ambitious target. With the lowest per-kWh cost in the world, rooftop solar plus storage is among the fastest-growing segments in India's renewable energy sector.
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. It hopes to reach these targets with investment of nearly $53 billion. The region has faced many problems along the way. This included the COVID-19 pandemic that severely impacted the energy sector. This pandemic resulted in lockdowns that disrupted all aspects of the electricity value chain. This resulted in delays in RE project development, as well as import restrictions and equipment procurement logistics. Moreover, these delays prevented the SADC from fully benefitting from the policy initiatives that encourage private sector engagement.
Impact of re targets on economic growth
Many countries have adopted RETs to increase their share of renewable energy. These targets are intended to increase renewable energy and combat climate change. These targets will require significant changes to the energy system in order to be achieved. While RETs are useful policy tools, there are also significant practical drawbacks.
First, targets make it easier to take action quickly. This can cause decision-makers lose sight of the core objectives. For example, the Renewable Energy Directive could lead to increased net carbon emissions and deforestation. This could lead to unwise tradeoffs.
Impact of re targets on carbon emissions
Retargets have been introduced to cut carbon emissions. But these targets are not without their 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. A key criterion to a sustainable and ecologically-friendly economy is increasing carbon efficiency. The development of renewable energy resources can help achieve this objective and provide a solid base for decision making.