Wood Mackenzie, also known as WoodMac is a global energy, chemicals, renewables, metals and mining research and consultancy group, which says India may achieve about 76 per cent of the 175 gigawatts target of renewable energy (RE) generation by the scheduled date of 2022 as it faces a myriad of challenges.
Even with significant cost declines the recent cancellation of auctions risks jeopardising investor confidence. Various duties on equipment and the associated uncertainty has led to a short-term uptick in solar prices. This leads to the knock-on effect on already cash-strapped state distribution companies who are showing an unwillingness to green light high priced solar projects or are simply putting solar expansion plans ‘On Hold’
Nonetheless, the government’s commitment and support towards renewables remain strong.
Wood Mackenzie said combined wind and solar capacity have almost doubled from 2014 levels to 61 GW this year.
Driving this growth is the significant cost decline that auctions continue to deliver. In the next five years, capital costs are expected to decline by 23 per cent for wind and 31 per cent for solar. This trend will only continue as new generation technologies replace old ones. They expect non-hydro renewables to make up 13 per cent of power generation mix by 2023.
Improving grid flexibility through storage and flexible power generation will be extremely crucial in achieving high levels of renewable penetration.
This is a PTI News-Feed which was edited by Clean-Future Team.