Any conversation on the renewable energy segment in India immediately seamlessly glides toward solar power. The reason is simple: solar currently dominates the RE segment. Today’s blog presents the scope of other alternates gaining momentum

India, the world’s fourth-largest electricity consumer and third-largest renewable energy producer, installed 40% of its energy capacity in 2022 from renewable sources. 

As of November 2023, India’s installed non-fossil fuel capacity increased 396% in the last 8.5 years, accounting for 44% of the country’s total capacity.

WriteCanvas discussed the importance of solar, wind, and hybrid power in India’s renewable energy sector in a previous blog post. We now focus on the developments and prospects in nuclear, waste-to-energy, biogas, and other alternative energy sources.

Nuclear power:

India’s installed power capacity currently stands at 405GW and is projected to reach 810 GW by 2030. Twenty-two operational nuclear power reactors with a cumulative capacity of 7.48 GW account for about 1.7 percent of India’s energy mix.

Largest plant: The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) is India’s largest nuclear power station, located in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district. Construction began in 2002 but faced delays due to local fishermen’s opposition. The plant is set to have six VVER-1000 reactors, with an installed capacity of 6,000 MW. Unit 1 was synchronized with the southern power grid in 2013 and has been generating electricity at its 1,000 MW limit. The original cost of the units was revised to Rs 17,270 crore, with Russia providing a credit of
Rs 6,416 crore.

Forecast:  India’s nuclear sources are expected to contribute nearly 9% of electricity by 2047, helping it achieve its net zero target by 2070.

Tidal energy: 

Estimates from the Indian government place the nation’s tidal energy potential at 8,000 MW. This includes around 7,000 MW in the Gulf of Cambay in Gujarat, 1,200 MW in the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat, and 100 MW in the Gangetic delta of the Sunderbans in West Bengal.

Largest plant: In 1991, a 150 kW Pilot wave energy plant was established in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, marking the world’s first wave power plant using oscillating water column (OWC) technology.

Forecast: According to the estimates of the Indian government, the country has a potential of 8,000 MW of tidal energy.

Waste to energy:

India has the potential to generate 5,690 MW of power from industrial waste and MSW. However, as of May 2023, and the total number of WTE projects was 14 and the installed capacity stood at 556 MW, indicating the untapped potential of waste to energy.

Largest plants: Located in New Delhi, the Narela Waste to Energy Plant is a 24 MW biopower project. The project, developed in a single phase, is currently active. 

Sangrur, Punjab is the largest biofuel production unit in India, producing 33 tonnes of compressed biogas per day. The unit will consume 1.30 lakh tonnes of straw annually, aiming to address the issue of stubble burning. 

Forecast: India can harness its vast waste generation to generate 65 GW of electricity annually. Experts predict this to increase to 165 GW by 2030 and 436 GW by 2050.

Heat to energy (Thermal energy):

According to Invest India, the country’s thermal installed capacity reached 240.43 GW as of Jan 2024, with 208.18 GW from coal and the rest from lignite, diesel, and gas.

Largest plant: The Vindhyachal Thermal Power Station in Singrauli district, Madhya Pradesh is one of the coal-fired power stations
of NTPC. It is the largest power station in India, and the 9th largest coal-fired power station in the world, with an installed capacity of
4,760 MW.

Forecast: India aims to achieve 500 GW of non-fossil-based electricity capacity by 2030, with cleaner fuels accounting for 50% of the installed capacity mix.

Hydropower: 

In 2022-23, hydropower accounted for 12.5 percent of power generation in India. India had about 4745.6 MW pumped storage capacity in operation in 2023 with about 57,345 MW of pumped storage capacity under various stages of investigation and construction.

Largest Hydropower: 

The 2,400MW Tehri Hydropower Complex in Uttarakhand, India’s largest hydroelectric power plant, is the tallest in the country at 260.5 meters. The complex consists of the Tehri Dam, Tehri Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Power Plant, and Koteshwar Dam. The reservoir stores water for hydroelectricity generation, irrigation, and municipal water supply to various North Indian states. The project was recently approved by the Indian government, with NTPC taking over in November 2019. The Koyna Hydroelectric Project, India’s largest completed hydroelectric power plant, is located near Patan and has four dams, including the largest across the Koyna River.

Caveat: Caveat: Large hydroelectric projects have had devastating environmental impacts. The sinking of Joshimath town in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand forced the government to review the Tapovan Vishnugad Hydropower Plant undertaken by NTPC. Environmentalists alleged that the construction of a changes the natural course of the river and dramatically also affects the flora and fauna, impacting biodiversity.

Forecast: India’s 103 GW potential is estimated to require 14.5 GW of PSP capacity by 2031-32, with 4.7 GW currently unoperated, 2.8 GW under construction, and 24 GW under study.

Small hydro power:

India has a 1.2% market share in the small hydropower sector, with an installed capacity of 4,944 MW.

Forecast: The global Small Hydropower market, valued at $2185.63 million in 2020, is projected to reach $2826.05 million by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 3.93% between 2021 and 2027.

Hydrogen:

India launched the National Green Hydrogen Mission in 2021 to create a Green Hydrogen ecosystem in the country.

Largest plant: The Pudimadaka Green Hydrogen Hub aims to establish a global ecosystem for new energy technologies, including electrolyzer and fuel cell manufacturing, startup, incubation, testing, and production of green hydrogen and its derivatives. The project involves the construction of India’s largest green hydrogen production facility (1200 TPA), which will be converted into green ammonia and green methanol derivatives.

Forecast: As per Green Hydrogen Mission, India’s Green Hydrogen production capacity is expected to reach 5 MMT annually, generating 125 GW of renewable energy capacity, generating Rs. 8 lakh crore in investments, and creating over 6 lakh jobs by 2030.

Our take: 

India aims to achieve 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, with 424 GW of power generation capacity, 180 GW from non-fossil fuels, and 88 GW in the works.

Notably, the government has been regularly launching policies to support the segment. But some moot questions remain:

1. How affordable is the RE alternative at the present price point?
2. Does India have a robust infrastructure in place to support our ambitious targets?
3. How environmentally friendly really is renewable energy?
4. Is there a proper monitoring agency in place to scrutinize the progress of the projects?
5. What is happening with the feedback files? Is anyone acting on it or are they gathering the proverbial dust?
6. How are we benchmarking the success/failure of a project?

Being an active stakeholder in the sustainability segment, WriteCanvas is by no means a naysayer. We admit that India has come a long way in the RE segment, and is ahead of the curve vis-a-vis many of our peers. 

What makes the RE environment interesting in the country is active public-private partnerships–these allude to stakeholder accountability. Several RE conferences in the country and India pavilions in similar events abroad certainly show that we are moving in the right direction. 

Reader, what do you think can be done to not just fast-track the adoption of RE in the country, but also ensure transparency at all levels?