Clean energy is the new oil. Today, everyone from car manufacturers to heavy industry to policy makers to power companies are looking for ways to decarbonise their power sources. India is leading the way for developing economies both from an innovation standpoint, as well as through policy implementation. At the UN climate change conference in Glasgow, COP26, India committed to meeting 50% of its energy needs from renewable energy by 2030.
Indian policymakers are in a position to make these commitments due to their confidence in their industry partners. Tata Power, for instance, has planned a capex of over Rs.75,000 crores in the next five years in renewables, and has a very strong solar EPC order book of roughly Rs.13,000 crores. They are adding about 700 megawatts of capacity in renewables in FY22 and plan to increase their green energy share to 60% over the next five years.
They've also joined hands with News18 Network to launch 'Sustainable is Attainable' - An Initiative to fast-track India's Green Energy transition by propagation and popularisation of green and clean energy, making a sustainable lifestyle ‘attainable’ for millions of Indians via wide-scale adoption of green products and solutions. As a part of this initiative, Shireen Bhan, Managing Editor of CNBC-TV18 and Dr. Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD, Tata Power had a lively discussion about the future of India's power - in more ways than one.
A Clean and Green Vision
"Tata Power's pillar of sustainability is based on the vision of our founder, Jamshetji Tata, from over a 100 years ago. Our mission has always been to provide clean, abundant and affordable energy to the people of this country. Its relevance is probably greater today, when climate change is a global threat," said Dr Sinha. He believes that India will see the largest increase in energy demand worldwide, being one of the largest and fastest growing economies in the world.
According to him, this transition to green energy isn't optional, but a necessity to ensure sustainable growth for India's economy. Tata Power's portfolio presently comprises 32% green energy, and is set to increase to 70% by 2030, and 100% by 2045. Tata Power is India's first company to set themselves a net zero target by 2045.
Driving Adoption Through Awareness
Dr Sinha predicts that clean energy solutions will become commercially viable and also economical, creating a whole ecosystem of easy adoption as time goes by. "We are already seeing this in the form of solar pumps and microgrids in villages. We have, in fact, the largest microgrid initiative in the world, and are working to make it financially sustainable."
According to him, there are three key trends that make this possible: Decarbonisation of energy, decentralisation of energy production (often produced by consumers themselves) and the adoption of hybrid solutions that involve multiple sources of power (usually a combination of wind, solar and grid power), as the terrain and requirements determine.
Driving Innovation
The Tata Trust supported Clean Energy International Incubation Centre in Delhi has received support from the Indian government, as well as international agencies. The centre aims to provide complete lab to market incubation support for startups working in the clean energy space. It also helps incubatees by providing them last mile connectivity and end use deployment for successful research outputs the three core areas: universal energy access, inner energy efficiency and clean technologies.
"We strongly believe that the convergence of these three holds the potential to transform the way the world will produce and consume energy. Our focus remains on proactive, curated and demand-driven technology solutions, " said Dr Sinha, as he segued into the potential and power of EVs, and the barriers to adoption that Tata Power are solving for.
You can watch the full conversation here. To know more about Tata Power's sustainable energy portfolio, visit the Sustainable is Attainable Initiative website, and help spread the word.
Moneycontrol journalists were not involved in the creation of the article
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