Today's installed power capacity, along with that under construction, would be enough to satisfy India's power needs until 2026. In this scenario, no new investments need to be made in coal based power generation, and new renewable capacity could be all that would be needed beyond 2023-24, according New Delhi based think tank, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). But this would depend on a few critical factors namely, renewables are fully cost competitive, the grid is able to absorb this large amount of new, clean energy, together with battery based balancing power.
A new report from TERI forecasts that until 2024, if the price of solar and battery reaches 5.00 INR ($0.0746) per kWh, all new capacity additions would be in renewables. The report titled 'Transitions in the Indian Energy Sector-Macro Level Analysis of Demand and Supply Side Options', was released by the Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Piyush Goyal.
On the occasion, TERI's director general said, "Our report shows that the cost of renewable electricity and its storage is on a steady decline and could stabilize at around 5 INR per KWh. This would enable India to move decisively towards renewables for future generation. What this means is that India has a 10-year window where no new investments are likely to be done in coal, gas, or nuclear energy generation. The decarbonisation of power generation is also an opportunity to move other carbon based sectors like transport to electricity, thus multiplying the benefits of clean energy generation."
Two other reports were also released on the occasion, one by the Electricity Transitions Commission (ETC) and one by the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE). The ETC report focuses on having regulatory support along with a need to shift to a mix of energy system investment.
INAE President BN Suresh argued, "Indigenous manufacturing of renewable energy components such as solar PV cells and modules will benefit through job creation, reduce reliance on imported technology, and strengthen India‟s position as a manufacturing hub in line with Make In India initiative. Achieving high capacity target of renewables in a short time scale requires innovation in technology and cost reduction of project execution, operations, and maintenance."