Renewable Energy in India Notes for UPSC

Energy powers our homes, farms and factories, but burning coal, oil and gas heats the planet. Renewable energy, which comes from sources that are naturally replenished, such as the sun, wind, water and biomass, is the key to a clean and secure energy future. India has set a goal of 500 gigawatts (GW) of non-fossil energy capacity by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2070. For the UPSC Civil Services Examination, renewable energy is a high-yield topic across Environment, Science and Technology and the Economy: Prelims asks about schemes, institutions, solar parks and green hydrogen, and Mains asks about the benefits, challenges and policy of the energy transition. This note explains solar, wind, bioenergy and green hydrogen in India in simple language, with tables.

Why Renewable Energy?

India is the third-largest consumer of energy and the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, but its per capita emissions are low. The main reasons to go for renewables are: climate change (they produce little or no carbon dioxide), energy security (India imports a large share of its oil and gas, but sun and wind are available at home), air quality, falling costs (solar power tariffs have fallen sharply in the last decade), jobs in manufacturing and installation, and energy access in remote areas through decentralised systems. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is the nodal ministry, with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) as key institutions.

Solar Energy

India lies in the tropics and receives about 300 sunny days a year, giving a huge solar potential, especially in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (2010), one of the eight missions of the National Action Plan on Climate Change, started the growth, and its target was later raised to 100 GW by 2022; today, the national plan expects a large share of the 500 GW goal to come from solar. India's installed solar capacity has risen to well over 100 GW in recent years (check the latest MNRE data).

Solar power has advantages such as being modular and quick to install, but also challenges: it produces only in daytime, needs land, and its panel manufacturing depends on imported inputs, mainly from China.

Wind Energy

India is among the top countries in wind power capacity. The leading states are Tamil Nadu (Muppandal is among the largest wind farms), Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Wind is strongest during the south-west monsoon in the southern and western regions. The country has started to develop offshore wind energy, with the National Offshore Wind Energy Policy (2015) and potential zones off the coasts of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. The National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy (2018) promotes the use of both sources on the same land and the same grid connection, to improve reliability. Challenges include the variable nature of wind, the availability of land, bird and bat safety, and the old turbines that need repowering.

Bioenergy and Other Sources

Biomass and bioenergy use crop residue, animal dung and waste to generate power or fuel. The National Policy on Biofuels (2018) promotes ethanol and biodiesel. India has advanced the blending of ethanol in petrol and has reached the 20 percent target (E20) in 2025, which reduces oil imports and gives an additional income for sugarcane farmers. The SATAT initiative promotes compressed biogas (CBG) plants, and the GOBARdhan scheme converts cattle dung and farm waste into biogas and compost. Small hydro projects are used in the Himalayan states. Geothermal energy is found at Puga in Ladakh and Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh. Tidal and wave energy have potential in the Gulf of Khambhat and Gulf of Kutch and in the Sundarbans, but have not been developed on a large scale. Large hydropower is classified as a renewable source in India.

Green Hydrogen

Hydrogen is a clean fuel that releases only water when used, but how it is made decides its environmental benefit. It is described by colours: grey hydrogen is made from natural gas with emissions; blue hydrogen is made from gas with carbon capture; and green hydrogen is made by splitting water using electricity from renewable sources in an electrolyser, with no carbon emissions. Green hydrogen can replace fossil fuels in industries that are hard to electrify, such as steel, fertilisers, refineries, shipping and heavy trucks. The National Green Hydrogen Mission (approved in January 2023, with an outlay of about 19,744 crore rupees) targets a production of 5 million metric tonnes a year by 2030, with the associated addition of renewable energy capacity, and aims to make India a global hub for green hydrogen and its derivatives such as green ammonia. The Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) programme gives incentives for electrolysers and hydrogen production. Challenges are the high cost, the need for cheap renewable power and water, storage and transport, and the development of technology and standards.

Policies and Targets

India's targets announced at COP26 (the Panchamrit) include 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030, meeting 50 percent of the energy needs from renewables by 2030, reducing the carbon intensity of the economy by 45 percent by 2030 over the 2005 level, and net zero by 2070. Enabling policies include the Renewable Purchase Obligation (a minimum share of renewable power that distribution companies must buy), the Green Energy Corridors (transmission lines for renewable power), waiver of inter-state transmission charges for solar and wind projects, the Electricity (Amendment) rules to ease rooftop solar, the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022 which enabled the carbon credit trading scheme, and the reverse auctions by SECI, which brought down the tariffs. The share of non-fossil sources in the installed capacity has reached around half in recent years, but the actual generation share is lower because renewable plants work at a lower capacity utilisation (about 20 to 25 percent for solar and 25 to 35 percent for wind) than coal plants.

Challenges

The key challenges are intermittency (sun and wind are not available all the time), the need for energy storage (batteries and pumped-storage hydropower) and a flexible grid, the shortage of land and the opposition of local people, the high initial cost and the cost of financing, the delay in transmission lines, curtailment (switching off renewable power when the grid cannot take it), the dependence on imported solar cells and critical minerals like lithium and cobalt, the problem of disposing of old panels and batteries (e-waste), and the need for a just transition for coal-dependent workers and regions.

Way Forward

India should expand battery storage and pumped hydro, modernise the grid with smart technologies, build the domestic manufacturing of solar modules, batteries and electrolysers, adopt a recycling policy for panels, use degraded land and rooftops to reduce land conflicts, offer long-term finance at low cost, ensure fair compensation to the local communities, and train a skilled workforce. International cooperation through the ISA and with partners for technology and finance will also be important. A balanced answer will mention that the transition is needed for climate and security, but must remain affordable and just.

Quick Revision

• Target: 500 GW non-fossil capacity by 2030; net zero by 2070; MNRE is the nodal ministry.
• Solar: JNNSM (2010), PM Surya Ghar (2024), PM-KUSUM (2019), ISA at Gurugram; Bhadla is the largest park in Rajasthan.
• Wind: Tamil Nadu leads; offshore policy 2015; hybrid policy 2018.
• National Green Hydrogen Mission (2023): 5 million tonnes by 2030; green hydrogen uses renewable power in electrolysers.

Renewable energy is the base of India's climate and development strategy. Learn the schemes, targets and technologies, and always give a balanced view with the benefits and the challenges in your answers.

Related Notes to Read Next

Continue your preparation with these related notes from the same subject:

• Environmental Laws and EIA Notes for UPSC
• IUCN Red List, CITES and International Environmental Conventions
• Environmental Movements in India and Sustainable Development
• All Environment and Ecology notes

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is renewable energy?

Renewable energy comes from natural sources that are replenished, such as sunlight, wind, flowing water, biomass and geothermal heat.

What is India’s renewable energy target for 2030?

India aims to have 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030 and to reach net zero emissions by 2070.

Which ministry looks after renewable energy in India?

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is the nodal ministry for renewable energy.

What is the National Solar Mission?

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, launched in 2010 under the National Action Plan on Climate Change, aims to promote solar energy in India.

What is the International Solar Alliance?

The ISA is a treaty-based alliance of sunshine countries launched by India and France in 2015, with its headquarters in Gurugram, India.

What is PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana?

It is a scheme launched in 2024 to install rooftop solar panels in one crore households with a subsidy, providing free electricity up to 300 units.

Which state leads in wind power in India?

Tamil Nadu is a leading state in wind power capacity, followed by Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

What is green hydrogen?

Green hydrogen is hydrogen produced by splitting water using renewable electricity in an electrolyser, without emitting carbon dioxide.

What is the target of the National Green Hydrogen Mission?

The Mission aims at producing 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen per year by 2030.

What is the difference between grey, blue and green hydrogen?

Grey hydrogen is made from natural gas with emissions, blue hydrogen is made from gas with carbon capture, and green hydrogen is made using renewable electricity.

What is intermittency in renewable energy?

Intermittency means that sources like sun and wind do not supply power all the time, so storage and flexible grids are needed.

What is the PM-KUSUM scheme?

PM-KUSUM, launched in 2019, supports farmers with solar pumps and solar plants to reduce the use of diesel and grid power.