Renewable Energy in
India: Status and
Future Prospects
“……the time is running out…soon, there will be
nothing left to burn on earth but earth itself…”
By:
Pushkar Shanker
Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College

ENERGY IN INDIA: AN
OVERVIEW
 India consumes 3.7% of the world’s commercial
energy making it the 5th largest consumer of
energy globally.
 Total installed capacity of 1,44,912 MW.
 350 kgoe per capita primary commercial energy
consumption. 22% of world average.
 Per capita electricity consumption: 600 kWhr per
year.
 About 80% of total rural energy consumption
comes from non­commercial energy.
 84% villages electrified. 44% of rural households
electrified.

INDIAN POWER SECTOR
Source: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

ENERGY CONSUMPTION
TREND

ENERGY SCENARIO IN INDIA
 Rapid economic development & Increasing
population = High demand for Energy
 A sustained 8% GDP growth of India requires an
annual increase of:
 a) Commercial energy supply from 3.7% to 6.1%
 b) Total primary energy supply from 2.2% to 5.1%
 Limited supply of COAL, coupled with its poor
quality, low level of technologies advancements
and high environmental hazards.
 Limited domestic reserves and uncertain foreign
supply of hydrocarbons.

WHY RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR
INDIA?
 Power shortage
 Rising Prices of Oils & Gases
 Ecological Hazards
 Ample resources and sites available
 Abundant sunshine
 Government incentive
 Increased financing options

BENEFITS OF RENEWABLE
ENERGY
 Avoid the high costs involved in transmission
capex.
 Avoid distribution losses – Technical & otherwise
 Avoid recurring fuel cost
 Boost the rural economy
 Encourage self help groups & self dependence
 Enable village co­operatives to supply and / or
monitor distribution
 Make available much needed energy for basic
needs at the doorstep at affordable prices.

INSTALLED CAPACITY FROM
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Source: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

CURRENT FOCUS
 Promoting rural energy for productive uses and
linked social benefits
 Promoting renewable energy for rural
electrification and industrial applications
 Enhancing access of the rural poor to affordable
and sustainable energy services
 Supporting training and capacity building for
manufacture, local assembly and maintenance of
renewable energy technologies / systems
 Organizing global forum activities and providing
strategic expert advice on renewable energy
technologies and energy policy planning and
institutional framework

DEPLOYMENT
Wind installation (global) 60,000 MW (cumulative)
India’s share (and position) 6270 MW(fourth in the
world)
SPV cell production (global) 1,700 MW (in 2005)
India’s share (and position) 37 MW (seventh in the
world)
Biogas plants (global) 16 million units
(cumulative)
India’s share (and position) 3.9 million family size
units (second in the world)
Solar Thermal (global) 110 million sq.m
(cumulative)
India’s share (and position) 1.65 million sq. m (ninth
in the world)
Source: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

POTENTIAL
Renewable Estimate Remarks
Resource d
Wind Power Potentia
45,000 MW Sites with wind densities of 300 W/
l m2 or higher with 9% of assessed
area available for wind farms
requiring 12 ha/MW.
Biomass Power 45,000 MW 20 mha of wastelands yielding 10
MT/ha/annum of woody biomass
giving 4000 kcal/ kg with system
efficiency of 30% and operating at
75% PLF.
Solar Power 50,000 MW Assuming solar energy:
4­6 kWhr/ m2/ day and depending
upon future developments making
solar technology cost­competitive
for grid power applications.
Small Hydro 15,000 MW
Power
Bio­Energy 24,000 MW
Source: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

COMMERCIAL ENERGY
IMPORTS FOR 8% GDP
Fuel Range of Assumed Range Import
Requireme Domestic of (Percen
nt in Productio Import t)
Scenarios n s
Oil (Mt) 350–486 35 315–451 90–93
Natural Gas 100–197 100 0-97 0-49
(Mtoe)
Coal (Mtoe) 632-1022 560 72-462 11-45
Total 1351-1702 ---- 387-1,010 29-59
Commercial
Primary
Energy
Source: Energy Policy Report, Planning Commission, India

INDIA – AN ATTRACTIVE
RENEWABLE ENERGY
MARKET
 India has a large potential for energy generation
by utilization of renewable energy source
 MNRE has planed a target capacity addition of
10,000 MW during the 11th five year plan
 10% of annual power capacity additions to be from
Renewable between 2003­2012
 As per the E&Y’s renewable energy index, which
takes into account various factors governing
renewable energy growth in a country, India is
ranked 3rd overall.
 High potential for development across various
renewable source

INDIAN WIND ENERGY
SECTOR OVERVIEW
CURRENT SCENARIO
 4th largest producers of wind energy in the world.
 India’s current installed wind capacity is 8.7 GW
(approx. 10% of the world’s total installed
capacity).
 Capacity growth has been strong with a 22%
CAGR over last decade.
 Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra & Karnataka are the
leaders in wind capacity.

INDIAN WIND ENERGY
SECTOR OVERVIEW
FUTURE POTENTIAL
 Cumulative installed capacity is expected to reach 12
GW by 2010.
 Generation based subsidy of Rs 0.50per unit recently
announced for 10 years (limit of 5 MW per developer
and 50 MW in aggregate).

KEY TREND IN INDIA WIND
ENERGY INDUSTRY
 All players in India undertaking a Dual Role –
Manufacturing & Developer
 Various Indian Companies are looking to enter
the sector
 Infrastructure Developers
 Electrical Equipment Manufacturers

INDIAN SOLAR ENERGY
MARKET OVERVIEW
MASSIVE POTENTIAL OF INDIA
 Huge potential for Solar Energy development in India
 High sunshine days, abundance of sites make soalr
energy an enticing prospect
MARKET IN GROWTH STAGE
 Installed manufacturing capacity has grown from a
meager 10 MW in 2000 to a total of 335 MW by 2007.
 India is now 7th worldwide in Solar PV Cell
production
 Generation capacities expected to pick up with
generation linked subsidy announced by government

KEY TRENDS IN INDIAN
SOLAR INDUSTRY
EXPANSION ACROSS THE BOARD
 Various existing players planning Brownfield
expansion.
 Huge new Greenfield facilities being planned.
KEY DRIVERS INCLUDE:
 Low operating costs
 Capital subsidy (20/25%) by government for large
semi­conductor based units (for large investments
above certain limits)
 Possibility of Solar Energy development locally.
 Public and private capital in abundant supply.

INDIAN HYDRO POWER
SECTOR OVERVIEW
POTENTIAL FOR HYDRO POWER GENERATION
 India ranks 8th in terms of hydro­electricity generated
 Potential to provide energy in remote and hilly areas
where extension of an electrical transmission grid
system is uneconomical
 Till now, 14 States have announced policies for setting
up commercial SHP projects.
KEY POSITIVE
 Proven Technology
 Low O&M Costs
 High energy conversion efficiency (70%)

INDIAN HYDRO POWER
SECTOR OVERVIEW
KEY DRAWBACKS
 High gestation period
 High capital costs (per MW)
 Social Costs
FUTURE POTENTIAL
 Hydro capacity expected to reach 57 GW by 2012.
 Small hydro potential is expected close to 15 GW.
 MNRE has introduced subsidy schemes for SHPs up
to 25 MW.
 Well­established manufacturing base for full range
and type of small hydro equipments.

BIOMASS ENERGY OVERVIEW

OVERVIEW
CHALLENGES POTENTIAL DRIVERS
 Small sized  20 GW of power  Agro based
may be generated economy
 Dependence on
from 300 MT of  Large,
agricultural output agro waste Unexploited
 Insecure raw (currently domestic resource
material linkage produced)  Favorably aligned
 Shortage of  50% currently regulatory
equipment burnt in the open environment
 Lack of cheap  Less than 3%  Simple
financing, both debt potential realized technology
& equity  Can revolutionize  Power deficit
pace of rural across states
 Currently, few
electrification.
focused biomass
players

RETURNS IN RE BASE
GENERATION PROJECTS
 Given the comparatively higher cost of
generating energy from renewable sources,
necessity for financial support for the industry.
 Government has introduced subsidies to make
returns attractive for developers.
 Indicative expected returns:
Type of Wind Hydro Hydro Biomass Solar
Project
Returns
(PPA) (Merchant)
Costs (Rs. Cr/MW) 5­6 5­6 5­6 4­5 18­20
Equity IRR 20­25 15­18 20­25 16­20 ­­

THANK YOU
By:
Pushkar Shanker
Department of Electrical Engineering
Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College
Gill Park, Ludhiana.