Release Date: 04-Nov-2012
India has vast potential of renewable energy that is yet to be trapped effectively. Today, there exist abundant sites for exploring renewable sources of electricity. Generating power from renewable energy sources for country like India is the best option because there are over 75% of people are still living in rural areas, and are struggling for basic necessities including food shelter, water and electricity.
Wind energy is the most promising source that has the potential to generate 55% of the total renewable energy in India. India has wind potential over 45,000 MW and with installed capacity of more than 15 GW by June’2012; India is the fifth largest wind market in the world. In recent years, several wind turbine manufacturing companies has establish their presence in India to grab the opportunity of such growing market. With entry of global players India is expected to become manufacturing hub in future.
Biomass power is the second largest renewable energy sources in India as it accounts for around 20% of total renewable installed capacity. Indian biomass has potential to generate over 20,000 MW of renewable energy. Exploiting biomass potential would act as a crucial component in solving overall energy requirement in India. At present, biomass is a vital source of energy for household and industrial energy requirements in India. This is one of the most important energy sources for several small-scale industries and fuel for independent power plants as well as most commonly used domestic fuel.
Other important sources of renewable energy in India are Small Hydro Power, cogeneration bagasse and waste to energy. Solar power is one of the renewable sources which country has not exploited yet. Solar energy can play a vital role in solving energy problem in India as most of Indian states are blessed with 300 or more sunny days.
Government has set a target to generate 53,000 MW from renewable energy sources by 2017. To achieve this ambitious target government has introduced several programs such as Generation Based Incentives (GBI), Renewable Energy Certificates, Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) support, solar specific, Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO), Generation Based Incentives (GBI) and long term PPAs.
Backed by strong policy measures, India has become one of the hottest destinations for renewable energy investment as it has witnessed 62% growth in investment rate. During the year 2011, India has received over US$ 12 Billion of investment showing the fastest expansion in investment trend. Additionally, Introduction of Jawaharlal Nehru Solar Mission (JLNSM) for promotion of solar power is expected to drive huge investment in this field as government has targeted to install 20 GW of solar power by 2020.
For more information visit “India Renewable Energy Sector Analysis”.