The Indian government, as the date for the new international climate treaty nears, has planned to announce various projects to tap renewable energy sources and cap the carbon emissions which have made it the fourth largest polluter in the world.
In 2008, the Indian government has announced a nation-wide plan to increase the use of solar energy. Although those plans are yet to see any implementation it demonstrates the government’s clear intent to do as much as it can to show the world community that India is serious about reducing its carbon emissions and is doing whatever could be done. India seems to be hankering for some concessions in the new climate treaty.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, while chalking out directions for the state-owned and private power companies, should also consider the fact that there is a practical limit up to which the companies can integrate energy from renewable sources into to the existing grid. To increase the contribution of renewable energy sources the Indian government should also plan to expand infrastructure required for distribution. Lack of infrastructure is a major pullback in tapping clean energy, even in developed countries.
According to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are already buying 10% of their grid purchase from renewable energy. The reason these two states lead rest of the country in tapping renewable energy sources is that they have optimum wind speeds which drive the wind turbines in the vast wind farms. In order to grasp the renewable sources to their fullest the ministry must carry out in-depth surveys of different regions of the country, find out which kind of renewable source could provide the optimum results in differnet regions and then advice the state electricity boards about how to use those resources and integrate the new infrastructure with the existing grid.
While the government seeks to increase competition among power companies by introducing renewable energy certificates which can be traded to achieve the set renewable energy targets, merely setting obligatory standards would not help the cause. The private companies will definitely want the Indian government to solve the basic problems like infrastructure and environmental clearances for projects. A national policy is necessary to look into and solve these primary problems in all the future plans to tap clean energy could be halted.
