How govt, pvt sector readied to steer India to path of sustainable energy

Taking a green leap was the mantra for both the government and the country’s leading energy companies in a year when India made the ambitious declaration that it would become a Net Zero economy in 50 years.

The poster boys of India’s energy sector have already pitted their green ambitions against each other. While Reliance Industries (RIL) made a splash with a Rs 75,000 crore investment plan in green energy, Adani Enterprises is betting $20 billion in the same.

Tata Power and JSW Energy have both announced their Net Zero plan, and state-owned oil majors, too, are inching towards electric mobility.

While there is no overarching target yet for phasing out fossil fuels, especially coal, and planning a ‘just transition’, policy changes and private investment seem to be coming together to move towards a green future.

Clean endeavour

If oil marketing companies (OMCs) are to be believed, petrol pumps could become a thing of the past, with leading players gearing up to offer “integrated energy stations”. These ‘Mobility Stations’, as Reliance BP Mobility (RBML) is calling them, will have electric vehicle (EV) charging and/or battery swapping, along with petrol and diesel dispensing units. 

State-owned OMCs, Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), have also announced plans to set up 22,000 EV charging stations over the next three years.

According to BPCL’s chairman and managing director, Arun Kumar Singh, the goal is to convert their existing pumps into ‘energy stations’ that offer at least five fuels – petrol, diesel, gas, flexi-fuels like ethanol, and EV charging stations.

HPCL has tied up with Convergence Energy Services (CESL) and Tata Power for the setting up of EV charging stations at its petrol pumps. IOCL, too, has collaborated with Tata Power, Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments (REIL), PowerGrid Corporation of India (PGCIL), NTPC, Fortum, Hyundai, Tech Mahindra, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Ola to  set up EV chargers at its fuel stations.

RBML has gone a step ahead and forged a non-binding agreement to explore the creation of EV products and services with the Mahindra Group. A key focus of this partnership is battery swapping. If the technology does well, it could lead to other players adopting the same.  

As for green fuels, though the Centre is yet to finalise the Hydrogen Mission announced by the Prime Minister on August 15, 2021, the private sector is already investing in the sector.

Adani Enterprises, which recently launched its petrochemicals arm, is planning to offer a range of green fuels and use its existing supply chains and renewable energy units for their production and transport. The company plans to manufacture green hydrogen, green methanol, green ammonia and green fertilisers, said senior executives.

Chirag Gajjar, head, Subnational Climate Action at WRI India, an environment-oriented research organisation, said the Hydrogen Mission and the push for electric mobility are two important initiatives, and even state governments are getting onto the EV bandwagon.

“A lot of state governments are getting into electric mobility in a big way, through public transport. Some states are looking at the future with a vision to mainstream climate actions in their development plans. For example, Bihar is working on a long-term climate strategy and Tamil Nadu has been aiming at offshore wind,” Gajjar said.

Race to Zero

At the global climate conference, COP26, in Glasgow this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India will be a Net Zero economy by 2070, with 500 GW of renewable energy capacity. He said, moreover, that 50 per cent of the country’s electricity supply would come from non-fossil fuel sources by 2040.

Though the specifics of this announcement are still being designed at the policy level, the private sector has jumped in already. Tata Power, one of the largest power generators in the country, has announced that it will no longer invest in coal-based power and any future investment will only be in renewable energy and allied solutions. It has set a target of 25 GW of renewable energy by 2030 and aims to be a Net Zero carbon company by 2050.

State-owned NTPC has targeted to add 60 GW of renewable energy in the next two decades. JSW Energy plans to halve its carbon footprint by 2030 and be a Net Zero company by 2050. Adani Enterprises has announced it will triple its renewable power generation capacity over the next four years to 63 per cent, from 21 per cent currently.

While the bigwigs are pushing ahead with their green plans, the real challenge will be to persuade smaller industries to embrace energy transition.

“In India the challenge is to go beyond the private sector which can transition away from fossil fuel on its own, and think more about energy consumers — small industries for whom it will be difficult to transition. The government needs to ensure that they aren’t left behind in the energy transition,” Gajjar said.

Ground level challenges

Experts agree that the challenge will come from the ground, especially state-level departments and consumers. In the electricity sector, the financially beleaguered power distribution companies pose a threat to large-scale adoption of renewable energy. In green fuels and electric mobility, the states need to take the initiative to adapt these new technologies and bring down costs through public transportation.

In its February 2021 report on India, The International Energy Agency (IEA) said the country has the opportunity to build a new energy future. “India’s energy future depends on buildings and factories that are yet to be built, and vehicles and appliances that are yet to be bought. This represents a huge opening for policies to steer India onto a more secure and sustainable course,” it said.

The ball is now in the court of policymakers – both at the central and state levels.