The Rise of the Demand for Offshore Renewables: A Case Study on Increasing the Mix of India’s Electricity Demand and Changing the Mix
Out of India’s approximately 10% of electricity, most of which is supplied by wind power is generated in the western states of Gujarat and Rajasthan, and in Tamil Nadu in the southeast. The challenge of laying the extensive undersea transmission cables needed to develop wind power is one of the reasons why there is interest. There is clear interest in offshore renewable, but it does not give confidence to the investors.
But in 2021, the government announced plans to generate 50% of its electricity from renewables by 2030 and to cut its emissions to net zero by 2070 (see ‘Changing the mix’). It would be an important change for a nation with one of the lowest amounts of carbon dioxide in the world. Even so, the independent scientific organization Climate Action Tracker considers these targets to be ‘critically insufficient’ and in line with 4 °C of global warming by 2100.
The country’s continued economic growth means that electricity demand is currently increasing at a staggering rate: 7% per year between 2010 and 2019, and 10% between 2021 and 2022.
“How do we do it and at the same time elevate the incomes of people achieving economic growth and transitioning from fossil fuels?” asks Charith Konda, energy finance analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a global think-tank on environmental and economic issues based in Hyderabad, India.
The India Energy Storage Alliance: Turning a Backseat on Energy Storage Technology for the Industrial Era: High-Capacity Solar Power Plants, Turbines and Water Pumps
The investment goes further. The Solar Park Scheme provides financial support — up to 30% of the project costs — and other incentives, such as helping with infrastructure and grid connectivity to encourage the building of solar parks of 500 megawatts or larger.
The goal is to install 40 gigawatts of rooftop solar capacity by year’s end. These incentives target both individual home-owners and electricity distributors.
There is also a scheme for farmers in which the state and the national government will subsidize up to 90% of the cost of installing solar-powered water pumps. “The idea is to reduce the diesel generator–base pump system so we can reduce oil consumption throughout the country,” Prakash says. “The farmer can also generate some additional electricity and sell it to the grid.”
This success in turbine manufacturing is helping to boost wind power by providing almost a one-stop shop for setting up wind farms, in which turbine manufacturers procure the land and arrange the transmission infrastructure. “All the investors have to do is come there and ask for the turbine and it’s plug-and-play,” Jayasurya says.
India’s storage sector is having a boom. When the India Energy Storage Alliance, a trade body that represents the energy-storage sector, was established in 2012, only five international companies were interested in bringing advanced energy-storage solutions to India, says its president, Rahul Walawalker. The organization has more than 160 members. India has been a strong market for energy storage. The country’s notoriously fickle grid stability has led many consumers to store energy to protect them from blackouts.
Conventional lead–acid batteries have provided a buffer against peak price surges in homes and offices. But the rise of renewable energy has shifted the focus to larger and more-advanced energy-storage technologies, such as lithium-ion batteries, flow batteries, mechanical storage and forms of gravity storage, such as pumped hydro power.
The government is attempting to be technology agnostic in regards to supporting energy storage, but the two leading technologies are very different and serve different needs, says Walawalker. The lifespan of pumped hydro storage projects is usually 25 to 30 years, but because of environmental and social challenges they can take a long time to be approved and built. Batteries can be installed quickly but only provide short-term storage that can be measured in days or hours.
Chandrayaan-3, India, the G20 Summit, and India’s Year in Science: The Challenges of Scientific Cooperation, Public Health, and Nature
The social reformer and non-violent leader of India’s freedom movement, Mahatma Gandhi, once said: “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” In August this year, the Chandrayaan-3 lander delicately extended its legs, bounced once, twice and settled near the lunar south pole. Perhaps the Moon shook a little, too.
By then, 2023 was already a momentous year for India. In April, China was overtaken by it to become the world’s most populous nation with 1.4 billion inhabitants. It is home to more than one in six of the world’s people.
In September, at a meeting in New Delhi of the G20 group of the world’s biggest economies, speculation around plans to rename the country Bhārat, its name in several Indian languages, began in earnest.
India has many challenges. Due to global warming and infrastructure failures, this year has seen flash floods and an increase in religious conflict. It is a diverse country preparing to take the next steps in its economic and social development. Nature explores the ways science and technology can support development.
The story of water is what makes India a beautiful place to live. We meet Yoshita Baruah, a solar physicist who is looking at a different type of storm to the ones caused by global warming.
Along with many other nations, India faces a crisis caused by the over-prescription of antibiotics. The report shows how researchers in India are attempting to combat public-health problems.
Source: India’s year in science
Exploring the mind of a scientist: a case study on mental health of Indian scientists (by Annapoorna P. K.)
The nation’s greatest strength is its people. Many brilliant minds have already left and the government is attempting to get them back with some new schemes. Foster a stronger entrepreneurial culture is a solution that could be used.
India is one of many countries to be concerned about workplace mental health. Annapoorna P. K. talks about her findings on the mental health of Indian scientists.