Nations across the world are working towards a clean energy transition. India, in particular, has taken several steps to reduce its fossil fuel dependence
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Energy is a key requirement for a country’s development. Every primary, secondary, and tertiary sector activity, such as agriculture, education, health care, manufacturing, construction and transportation requires energy.
Energy needs vary across the world’s regions. The important determining factors in this regard are the size of a population, the rural-urban status of settlements, and the scale of activities undertaken. For example, some less populated, high-tech nations can consume a lot of energy. Similarly, populous cities can have enormous energy needs.
Generally, nations derive energy from a combination of sources. These mainly include coal, oil, and natural gas (or fossil fuels). Some have developed nuclear power production capabilities. However, there is an increasing recognition of the fact that the current practice of drawing energy from fossil fuels is resulting in their depletion and disturbing the ecological balance.
Another concern is the release of pollutants in the air due to the burning of fossil fuels, which has adverse effects on living beings and the environment. Some of these negative impacts include ocean acidification, extreme weather conditions (i.e. long-duration heatwaves, intense cyclonic activity and rainfall resulting in landslides and flooding), global warming, air and water pollution, loss of biodiversity, and a decline in people’s health.
There is an increasing recognition of the fact that the current practice of drawing energy from fossil fuels is resulting in their depletion and disturbing the ecological balance.
The aforementioned impacts are an important reason for an increasing number of nations shifting to cleaner (i.e. environment-friendly) and renewable energy sources, such as hydropower, municipal waste, wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and biogas.
In this regard, the UN cautions nations against the continued use of fossil fuels and suggests measures for reducing dependence. Further, the World Economic Forum has developed a framework and index to assess where countries lie on energy transition. The Energy Transition Index (ETI) values are derived based on a review of two aspects: the current energy system performance and readiness for transition. The results show that the European countries of Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland and France received the highest ETI scores; emerging economies (including Brazil and China) made notable progress though disparities in investments and regulation remain. Of the total 120 countries reviewed in 2024, India ranked 63rd.
This article describes clean energy initiatives introduced in select nations and the progress achieved in this endeavour.
Countries are in various stages of energy transition. Sweden, for example, is described as a leader in building a low-carbon economy. The government has taken advantage of their natural resources and uses a combination of renewable energy sources. Its dependence on fossil fuels is reduced through the policy instruments of taxes (carbon tax), permits, regulations, targeted Research and development (R&D), climate funding schemes, and investment grants.
Among the nations of the Global South, Brazil, India, Morocco, and Kenya are making progress on this path. In Brazil, although the use of fossil fuels continues, the share of renewables, bio-energy and waste, and biomass in its energy mix is significant. The government has invested in wind, solar, and biomass development, along with grid expansion and modernisation. It also supports the participation of independent power producers. Some of its achievements are reduced oil imports due to ethanol blending and distributed electricity generation using solar power.
In Brazil, although the use of fossil fuels continues, the share of renewables, bio-energy and waste, and biomass in its energy mix is significant.
In Morocco, a large solar power plant spread over 3,000 hectares of land is operational. Its location was chosen based on annual solar radiation intensity. The 580 megawatts of electricity produced is sufficient to power the homes of 2.3 million people. For the plant’s functioning, however, around 3 million cubic metres of water per year and 19 tonnes of diesel fuel per day are required. Kenya, on the other hand, has harnessed the power of wind to generate electricity. Its 310 megawatts onshore wind power project provides reliable, low-cost energy to the national grid that supplies power to around 1 million households.
India’s ETI score is slightly better than that of Morocco and Kenya. As of 30 September 2024, the country had an installed power capacity of 453 gigawatts (GW). The share of various power sources in this total is: coal 48 percent, solar 20 percent, wind 10.5 percent, hydro 10 percent, oil and gas 6 percent, bio-power 2.5 percent, nuclear 2 percent and small-hydro 1 percent. Year-wise data for installed capacity and generation by power source from 2015-16 to 2023-24 show that while coal remains a dominant source, the share of renewables (especially solar power) is growing.
According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), India’s installed renewable energy capacity (including large hydropower) on 30 September 2024 was 201.46 gigawatts. Thus, the share of installed renewable energy capacity (201.46 GW) in India’s total installed power capacity (453 GW) is about 44 percent, and the renewable energy constituents in order of significance are solar (90.76 GW), wind (47.36 GW), large hydro (46.93 GW) biomass cogeneration (10.72 GW), small hydro (5.08 GW), and waste to energy (0.60 GW). The four states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka account for a little more than one-half of the total installed renewable energy capacity.
Wind and small hydropower projects have been supported at various locations in the country based on available potential, and work is in progress on the development of wind-solar hybrid systems.
The progress in India’s renewable energy sector is due to the support provided by the national government under various clean energy initiatives, namely the national solar mission, the national bio-energy programme (includes waste to energy, biomass, and biogas programmes), the green energy corridor, and the national green hydrogen mission. Further, wind and small hydropower projects have been supported at various locations in the country based on available potential, and work is in progress on the development of wind-solar hybrid systems.
In addition, the practice of ethanol blending—a by-product of sugarcane processing—in petrol is being promoted to reduce the dependence on imported oil and address environmental concerns. By September 2024, 16.23 billion litres of ethanol were produced in the country.
For the year 2024-25, INR 191 billion is allocated to the MNRE for the implementation of schemes and projects. The share of various initiatives in the total amount (INR 191 billion) allocated is solar 87 percent, wind 4 percent, green energy corridor 3 percent, green hydrogen 3 percent, bio-energy 2 percent, and hydro 0.3 percent. This is a substantial hike from the previous year’s allocation of INR 78.48 billion.
Among the various clean energy initiatives mentioned above, notable progress is observed in the development of the solar power sector. The country has a solar energy potential of 748 GW, and the national government offers numerous incentives for its harnessing, such as 100 percent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), a waiver of inter-state transmission system charges and financial support to consumers and stakeholders. With this support, solar street lights are provided, students are given solar lamps, solar power plants are installed in government institutions, rooftop solar systems are set up in residential areas, solar parks and mega power projects with common infrastructure are developed, solar pumps for farmers are installed and areas inhabited by particularly vulnerable tribal groups are equipped with electricity.
The country has a solar energy potential of 748 GW, and the national government offers numerous incentives for its harnessing, such as 100 percent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), a waiver of inter-state transmission system charges and financial support to consumers and stakeholders.
The case of the Bhadla Solar Park developed in the Thar desert of Rajasthan is worth mentioning. The park has millions of solar panels and supporting infrastructure spread over 5,666 hectares of land with the capacity to produce 2.25 gigawatts of power. The facility offers a reliable electricity supply in neighbouring regions, even though dust storms sometimes reduce electricity production due to dust settling on solar panels.
The global clean energy transition agenda is driven by social, environmental and economic concerns. To address these problems, an increasing number of nations are tapping into clean and renewable sources of energy. In India too, numerous solar, wind, small hydro and bio-energy projects have been implemented. However, nations still have a long way to go. Development goals, energy demand, current energy system performance and readiness for transition vary by nation, with reliance on polluting fuels continuing to remain high.
Rumi Aijaz is a Senior Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.
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Rumi Aijaz is Senior Fellow at ORF where he is responsible for the conduct of the Urban Policy Research Initiative. He conceived and designed the ...
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