India’s renewable sector is set to boom by 2030 with green energy poised to meet a quarter of total demand
India is emerging as a global leader in renewable energy as a quarter of the country’s total energy demand could be filled by renewables by 2030, according to a new report.
Electricity demand in India has grown by 10 per cent a year over the past decade, and a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) found increasing renewable energy deployment to fill the gap could save the economy 12 times more than it costs by 2030.
“India has huge potential in terms of economic growth and in terms of renewables,” Bob Smith, head of operations at Mytrah Energy, told City A.M. Mytrah is India’s largest renewable power producer and is listed in London. It’s share price was up 3.52 per cent to 25.75p at the time of writing.
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“The thing that’s unique about India is that you’re creating new power,” he said, adding that the country’s renewable sector benefits from strong economic growth and a sunny and windy climate.
Solar and wind power have grown rapidly in the country because their costs are competitive with conventional power like coal.
Earlier this week BMI Research upwardly revised its renewable energy capacity forecasts for India due to higher than expected solar installation rates and the successful implementation of wind energy auctions. Non-hydro renewables capacity is expected to total 155 gigawatts (GW) in 2026, up from 130GW, BMI said.
“It’s clear that as renewables continue to get cheaper they become far more attractive in every location,” Smith said.
“Here in Europe and the UK all industries are looking to reduce power bills, and if we can get to a situation where decentralised renewables can offer a price more competitive with the grid you’ll see more big companies choosing to generate their own power instead of buying from grid.”
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