The government is aiming to increase the amount of renewable energy sources in its electricity mix. They have targets of 23% by 2025, and 31% by 2050. The petroleum energy mix will also be decreasing by around 20 percent by 2050. The country has seen an increasing demand for energy over the last few decades. However, fossil energy production cannot keep up with the rising demand. Therefore, there is an increasing need to import 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 goals for re-election
India's ambitious RE goals point to a positive future. The country has attracted multiple long-term investors, including sovereign entities, global private equity firms, oil and gas majors, and national conglomerates. With global investor interest increasing, the sector's popularity has been on the rise. If implemented successfully, India's RE opportunities are enormous.
The Government of India set ambitious RE targets in 2030 with the goal of installing 450 gigawatts of power. India's majority of RE capacity will likely be generated from wind-solar hybrids. This ambitious target will only be achieved if India has supportive policies and new technologies. One example is rooftop solar plus, which is growing at an incredible rate and has the lowest cost per unit of renewable energy in India.
Retargeting costs
The Southern African Development Community (SADC), a region of the world with ambitious targets for renewable electricity, is one example. The region is well on its way to achieving full energy access and a share of 53% renewable energy by 2040. With investments of almost $53 billion, it hopes to achieve these goals. But, there have been problems along its way. The COVID-19 outbreak, which seriously impacted the sector, was one of them. This pandemic resulted in lockdowns that disrupted all aspects of the electricity value chain. This led to delays in RE project design, as well import restrictions and equipment procurement logistics. These delays also prevented SADC from fully utilizing the policy initiatives encouraging private sector engagement.
Economic Growth: The Impact of Retargets
Many jurisdictions have adopted the RETs in an effort to increase the percentage of renewable energy in total power 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. Although RETs can be a useful tool for policy, there are significant drawbacks.
First of all, goals create pressures psychologically to act quickly. This can cause decision-makers lose sight of the core objectives. For instance, the Renewable Energy Directive may increase net carbon emissions and deforestation. This could result in unwise trade-offs.
Carbon emissions: Impact of retargeting
To reduce carbon emissions, retargets were introduced. However, these targets have some limitations. For example, one reason is that each region's carbon efficiency differs. For example, in China, the eastern region has a high carbon emissions efficiency, while the western region has a low one. Therefore, retargets have not been shown to be very effective.
Therefore, it is imperative to balance economic growth with environmental management. To have an ecologically sustainable society, it is crucial to improve carbon efficiency. Developing renewable energy sources can help meet this objective and provide a sound basis for decision-making.