Brief Context
Context A study titled “Scenarios Towards Viksit Bharat and Net Zero” by NITI Aayog projects a shift in India’s electricity mix from coal dominance to renewable leadership by 2070. Present Electricity Landscape of India Coal remains the backbone of India’s power system, accounting for nearly 74% of electricity generation, ensuring dependable and low-cost base-load supply. As per IRENA RE Statistics 2025, globally, India stands 3rd in Solar Power installed capacity, 4th in Wind Power capacity and
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Syllabus: GS3/Energy and Infrastructure
Context
- A study titled “Scenarios Towards Viksit Bharat and Net Zero” by NITI Aayog projects a shift in India’s electricity mix from coal dominance to renewable leadership by 2070.
Present Electricity Landscape of India
- Coal remains the backbone of India’s power system, accounting for nearly 74% of electricity generation, ensuring dependable and low-cost base-load supply.
- As per IRENA RE Statistics 2025, globally, India stands 3rd in Solar Power installed capacity, 4th in Wind Power capacity and 4th in total Renewable Energy capacity.
- India’s total installed capacity stands at 513 GW, of which 48% is fossil-based, 50% is from renewable energy sources and 1.7% is from nuclear energy.
- However, renewable energy’s share in actual generation increased only from 19.6% (2013-14) to 22% (2024-25), reflecting utilisation challenges.
- Projections Under Current Policy Scenario (CPS):
- Renewable energy’s share in electricity generation could rise from ~20% in 2024-25 to over 80% by 2070.
- Coal’s share could decline sharply to 6–10% by 2070.
Constraints in Renewable Energy Generation
- Low Capacity Utilisation Factor (CUF): Clean energy sources are intermittent and weather-dependent. Hence, their actual output is much lower despite high capacity.
- Eg: Solar CUF: ~20%, Wind CUF: ~25–30%, Coal CUF: ~60%, Nuclear CUF: ~80%.
- Base Load Dependency on Coal: Coal continues to supply over 75% of India’s electricity demand, especially at night when solar isn’t available.
- India’s grid still depends heavily on thermal sources for round-the-clock (RTC) power.
- Storage and Transmission Limitations: Lack of grid-scale battery storage prevents storing surplus daytime solar energy.
- Transmission planning is not in sync with the pace of RE (renewable energy) installation.
- Time-Insensitive Tariff Structures: India currently lacks time-of-day (ToD) pricing, discouraging daytime solar consumption.
- Uniform tariffs provide no incentive for consumers or discoms to shift loads to peak solar hours.
- Land and Regulatory Constraints: Land aggregation issues for large-scale solar or hybrid projects.
- Delays in regulatory clearances, especially for hybrid renewable systems and storage infrastructure.
Government Initiatives to Improve Clean Energy Utilisation
- Green Energy Corridor (GEC): Aims to strengthen the transmission infrastructure to evacuate renewable energy efficiently from generation points to demand centres.
- PM-KUSUM Scheme: Promotes installation of solar pumps and grid-connected solar power plants in rural areas to reduce diesel usage and support farmers.
- National Green Hydrogen Mission: Seeks to promote the production and use of green hydrogen to reduce reliance on fossil fuels in sectors like refining, steel, and fertilisers.
- Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme: Provides financial incentives for domestic manufacturing of high-efficiency solar photovoltaic (PV) modules and advanced battery storage systems.
- Renewable Energy Hybrid Policy: Encourages setting up of projects that combine solar and wind energy in the same location to increase capacity utilisation and reliability.
Way Ahead
- Grid Modernisation and Smart Management: Invest in smart grids with real-time demand-supply balancing.
- Enable time-of-day pricing, especially to promote daytime solar usage.
- Battery and Storage Infrastructure: Accelerate deployment of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) through VGF (Viability Gap Funding) or PLI.
- Hybrid Projects (solar-wind-hydro with BESS) should be fast-tracked.
- Decentralised Renewable Energy: Promote rooftop solar, solar pumps, and mini-grids to relieve base-load pressure.
- Revamp Tariff and Market Design: Introduce differential tariffs for peak vs off-peak periods.
- Set up green power markets on energy exchanges with open access for industries.
- Nuclear Power as a Strategic Pillar: Nuclear capacity should be scaled in a phased and financially sustainable manner to provide firm, low-carbon base-load power.
- Advanced reactors and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) must be prioritised to ensure flexible deployment and enhanced safety.
Source: IE