Web India’s solar sector witnessed unprecedented growth in 2023, pipping Japan in terms of progress, but its continued investments in fossil fuels have cast doubt over the country’s commitments toward ambitious climate goals. The country’s solar production witnessed a 5.9 percent surge in 2023, jumping ahead of Japan’s growth, claimed energy consultancy Ember, as it surges ahead of Japan’s economy, which is estimated to be the world’s fourth largest. India currently is the world’s fifth-largest economy, with the fastest-growing in 2033 at a rate of 7.8 percent, and is on course to become the third-largest economy by 2030, only behind the United States and China.
By the end of June 2024, India had recorded a total installed solar capacity of 87.2 gigawatts, attributed to the strong thrust toward renewable energy. All by the first half of this year, India had added a record 15 gigawatts of solar power-the highest absolute growth over any six months to date. This has underlined the critical gains India has achieved in recent years to expand renewable energy infrastructure. But with the economy growing at a fast clip and electricity demand rising accordingly, relative growth in the use of solar energy-while impressive-might be far from meeting the nation’s overall energy needs.
Solar currently makes up about 57.7 percent of India’s renewable electricity generation, outpacing other renewable sources of energy such as wind and hydroelectric power. While Japan installed marginally fewer solar installations compared to India, it gets 12 percent of its electricity from wind and solar, against only 10 percent in India. The global average stands at 13 percent to indicate that, though India is making advances, it is still lagging in the overall contribution renewables make to its energy mix. With its hills and large population, Japan thinks it has no room for extensive solar farms, but it is rapidly turning to wind energy, especially offshore, to become its main source of renewable energy.
In 2023, India invested $68 billion in clean energy, 40 percent over the average investment during the past decade, according to the International Energy Agency. While this solar energy investment boom is welcome, it nonetheless remains well short of what is needed to help India meet such ambitious climate targets. Investment in green energy needs to rise by a whopping 120 percent annually until 2030 if India is to meet its targets. Current projections, however, indicate that it will only double, falling far from the pace required to deliver the hoped-for climate outcome.
Adding to the complications of India’s energy landscape is a continued investment in fossil fuels, particularly coal. Yet, even as solar energy grows at a rapid clip, the share of fossil fuels in India’s electricity generation actually rose from 76 percent in 2023-a move, certainly, in the wrong direction given environmental goals. Of course, this points to a big concern regarding India’s complete transition to a low-carbon economy, considering coal is such a large emitter of carbon dioxide.
At the rate at which the cost of solar power is declining, coal will hardly be able to compete, especially in a sunny country like India. This could be further accelerated if the Indian government started phasing out its support for coal and shifted more resources toward solar and other renewables. With increased exposure to extreme weather conditions and rising sea levels caused by climate change, it would only be fitting that an ambitious renewable energy approach supported by strong industrial policies be part of India’s prudent strategy.
The challenge, however, is to balance such a rapidly growing economy with short-term energy needs while keeping long-term sustainability goals in mind. While India has done a commendable job in managing solar growth, the continued reliance on fossil fuels hints that a switch to a fully sustainable energy system is still far away. The next few years will thus be of essence to decode if indeed India would pursue its climate targets and emerge as a global leader in renewable energy.
Source: Ember, International Energy Agency (IEA)