'India to have over 65% power gen capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030'

India will have more than 65 per cent of its power generation capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030, Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister RK Singh said on Monday.

Addressing a CII conference on green energy, he explained that India is aiming for 65 per cent of power generation capacity from non-fossil fuels but the country will have more than that.

India will have 90 GW of solar equipment manufacturing capacity by 2030, up from 20 GW at present, he added.

He also informed that about 15-20 GW of solar equipment manufacturing capacity is under construction and India will have 40 GW of such facilities under Production-Linked Incentive Scheme-II (PLI-II).

"We shall have 90GW plus solar manufacturing capacity by 2030 right from the polysilicon to modules. We already have 20GW (solar manufacturing capacity). we already know that 15-20 GW of solar manufacturing capacity is under construction. You will further have 40 GW of solar manufacturing capacity (addition), which is going to come under Solar PLI-II," he said.

The minister also urged the industry player to shift to the manufacturing of high-efficiency solar equipment.

He stated that the country has already 170 GW of renewable energy (including large hydro), while another 80 GW is under construction.

India has planned to hit 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030.

"We will not just reach 65 per cent (from renewable energy by 2030), we will have more than that (65 per cent capacity)...We have pledged 50 per cent (power generation capacity from non-fossil fuels) by 2030. We will reach (over) plus 65 per cent," the minister said.

As far as our reduction in emission intensity is concerned, he said, "We have pledged that we would do (reduce it by) 33 per cent by 2030 ( from the level of 2005). We are already at 30 per cent, in fact at 31 per cent...we will do (reduce emission intensity by) 45 per cent by 2030".

Talking about the recent deliberations with industry players on green hydrogen, he also said the industry has evinced interest for 25 million tonnes of green hydrogen capacity.

The green hydrogen manufacturing capacity could be 35-40 million tonnes, he noted.

He stressed the need to generate green hydrogen instead of decarbonised Hydrogen.

Some developed countries have proposed decarbonised hydrogen, which may involve methane and carbon dioxide emissions.

He also informed that the ministry is considering giving deemed (power) distribution licences in renewable energy space.

Without naming China, Singh said one country has invested 10 times more in solar manufacturing than Europe.

Singh emphasised the need to develop cheaper storage facilities, as he called for making available funds that are ensured for developing countries in their journey towards a carbon-neutral future.

For developing countries, access to power is more important, Singh noted.

On the occasion, New & Renewable Energy Secretary Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi informed that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is planning to come out with the bids for the Rs 19,500-crore second tranche of production linked incentive (PLI) scheme within a week.

"Now, if you consider PLI-II (worth Rs 19,500 crore), for which we are confident that the bid will be issued within a week.the scheme guidelines have already been published," he said.

Earlier, CII Director General Chandrajit Bannerjee said, "Getting carbon neutral requires intense international support and series of calculations, financing and technologies of the entire scaling up to be able to meet the climate commitments".

Gyanesh Chaudhary, Vice Chairman & MD, Vikramsolar, opined that India will play a key role in enabling this endeavour and enhance our participation in the global supply chain.

"I am confident, in a matter of few years, every third solar panel in the world will be made in India. Scaling up domestic solar manufacturing will be the catalyst in achieving the Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision and India's net-zero target," he added.