According to a report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) India needs to triple its solar and wind energy capacity to 494 GW by 2030 to meet its goals towards decarbonization and align with the Paris Agreement.
Shantanu Jaiswal head of BNEF India said that India can still meet the Paris Agreement target of minimizing the effects of global warming to below two degrees Celsius, which is achievable but at the same time very challenging. As per the report India needs to intensify its efforts to reduce carbon emissions, especially in the power sector. Which is the top carbon emitter in the country.
The focus is intended to limit global warming to 1.75 degrees Celsius with a 67% chance of success. To achieve this exceptional task India needs to fully eliminate fossil fuel power generation by 2045 and switch to a renewable dominating system supported by technologies like batteries, pumped hydro, and gas peakers.
The nation’s electricity consumption is estimated to increase six times compared to 2023, India is predicted to have more than 4 terawatts of solar and wind power installed by 2050. This shift presents a significant chance for investment, requiring $2.1 trillion for wind and solar infrastructure. Furthermore, India will require a total of $12.4 trillion in investments by 2050 according to the Net Zero Scenario (NZS), which is a 34% increase compared to the baseline Economic Transition Scenario (ETS). The ETS, with no new policies in place, would result in a global warming scenario of 2.6 degrees Celsius, surpassing the goals of the Paris Agreement.
The NZS further stresses that India’s emissions must peak within the next 10 years across key sectors like power, transport, and buildings. Industrial emissions should peak by the early 2030s. In this scenario, cleaning up the power sector alone would account for half of the emissions avoided by 2050, while the electrification of end-use sectors like transport would contribute an additional 12%.
Bloomberg report also points out that by 2050, India’s hydrogen consumption is expected to increase more than tenfold to 64 million tons annually. Wind and solar installations are expected to reach 4,328 gigawatts by the middle of the century. Energy storage capacity, including pumped hydro and batteries, will increase from 5 gigawatts today to over 770 gigawatts with carbon emissions shrinking down to meet net-zero goals.
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