 "From crisis to opportunity: India's role in global renewable energy discourses")
The two recent wars — the Russia-Ukraine War as well as the Israel-Hamas War — as well as sanctions on Iran and Russia have had much impact on global energy geopolitics. Contrary to expectations, the above-mentioned wars have also demonstrated the vulnerability of developed countries in terms of accessing energy, especially those in the advanced Global North, like European countries, which are facing major challenges due to the wars.
In this regard, it may be added that the Red Sea chokepoint crisis has further aggravated the global energy crisis. Some of the aforementioned geopolitical crises have demonstrated that many advanced European countries were ill-prepared to face the recent crisis, thus putting stress on their access to energy. However, Global South countries have also faced challenges equally due to the above-mentioned wars. What needs to be underlined is that Global South countries are in a precarious position due to the non-availability of energy, which has aggravated other crises, including food and related crises.
The reason for identifying the vulnerability of the Global North and Global South in the present geopolitical crisis is to locate how the energy crisis affects the accessibility of energy. In this context, one must emphasize the importance of renewable energy discourses. It is pertinent to highlight how India provides a leadership role to the global community, particularly to the Global South, in addressing the issues of the energy crisis by initiating a host of renewable energy initiatives.
Three important issues need to be addressed while discussing India’s role in the global renewable energy discourses. These are:
India’s initiative with regard to the renewable energy sector.
How India’s policy towards the renewable energy sector will provide a model for the Global South countries in particular and Global North in general in addressing the crisis.
To assess India’s contribution to global discourses on the renewable energy sector.
These three above-mentioned vectors will provide a blueprint for India’s contribution to the global renewable energy discourses.
India’s initiative in the renewable energy sector
Three important vectors need to be addressed while locating India’s initiative for the renewable energy sector. These are:
As various studies suggest, India imports nearly 80 per cent of fossil fuels to meet its domestic requirement. Thus, any form of external geopolitical volatility has an impact on India’s access to energy security in the external market.
One important component of India’s quest for renewable energy is to adopt a sustainable approach to address the concerns relating to energy security issues.
The third objective is to look at renewable energy issues in a broader framework, which includes access to food and water and mitigating the adversarial impact of climate change. This makes India’s approach to energy discourses a more holistic one.
India’s progress in renewable energy infrastructure
Some of the above factors provide the structural framework for locating India’s approach to renewable energy security discourses. One needs to underline here that over the years, India has made tremendous progress with regard to boosting the domestic infrastructure for harnessing renewable energy. This progress is evident from the fact that by 2030, India will be able to harness 500 GW of renewable sources, as per the report of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India. This demonstrates India’s commitment to harnessing clean energy. Similarly, a recent report published by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy highlights that the installed capacity of various sources of renewable energy is “Solar, 48.55 GW; Small Hydro, 4.83 GW; large hydro, 46.51 GW; biopower, 10.62GW; Nuclear, 6.7 GW”.
A cursory survey of India’s quest for harnessing renewable energy demonstrates that over the years, India has scaled up its renewable energy sector. In this regard, it is pertinent to highlight that India started its journey to acquire renewable energy by diversifying into the nuclear energy sector in 1945 when the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) was established.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsRole of nuclear energy
It is pertinent to highlight that in 1957, the Atomic Energy Research Centre came up and was later renamed the Bhaba Atomic Energy Research Centre (BARC) in 1967. Over the years, India has made a quantum jump in harnessing nuclear energy since the commissioning of the first civilian nuclear reactor, Apsara, as the BARC website suggests, in 1957.
As per the Nuclear Power Cooperation of India Limited website, around 23 civilian nuclear reactors are currently in operation in India, thus providing the bulk of the energy supply. Nuclear energy has provided a safe and reliable energy source over the years, as the above statistical data shows, and meets a significant amount of India’s energy.
A report by the World Nuclear Association of April 2023 suggests that “9 per cent of electricity” will come from the nuclear sector. Another important step in the direction of harnessing nuclear energy is the recent government initiative to push for small modular nuclear reactors to harness energy security. For instance, a report published by NITI Ayog and the Department of Atomic Energy(DAE), Government of India, published in May 2023, highlights the importance of small modular reactors in terms of harnessing nuclear energy for India to achieve the goal of sustainable energy transition.
In this context, one can underline that nuclear energy has emerged as an important energy source to meet India’s domestic requirements over the years. Since nuclear energy is one of the safest energy sources, exploring its potential to its fullest is necessary. Even European countries are considering nuclear energy use after facing uncertainty due to the Russia-Ukraine war and the West Asian crisis. Wind energy is one of India’s major components of renewable energy sources. As per the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Statistics, India is currently producing “15000MW per annum” and is the “ fourth largest producer” of wind energy in the world.
Other forms of renewable energy
It may be recalled here that along with nuclear energy and wind energy, India is also emerging as a major hub for solar energy, biofuel, and Green Hydrogen. A major boost to harness renewable energy came from the Integrated Energy Policy (IEP) outlined in December 2014 by the Government of India. The IEP provided a conceptual framework to initiate further measures to boost renewable energy production and harness solar energy as one of the major aspects of India’s renewable energy policy. Another important aspect that can be discerned from the IEP approach is that it aims to ensure sustainable security and reduce carbon footprint. In this context, the significance of solar energy in augmenting India’s quest for renewable energy potentiality can be underlined. Along with IEP, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) launched in 2010 focuses on turning wasteland into economic potentiality, thus providing scope for employment opportunities and expanding India’s capability to harness energy.
India’s leadership in renewable energy transition
There is a flux in the global energy market largely due to the volatility in the global geopolitical landscape. This may have an adversarial impact on the global energy supply chain. Thus, there is a need to broaden the energy basket at the global level.
There is a need to dwell on India’s renewable energy initiatives in solar energy, bio-fuel and green hydrogen, which will enhance India’s position as a global leader in harnessing renewable energy while simultaneously meeting domestic demand. At the same time, India’s contribution to sustainable renewable energy security discourses is also noteworthy in the international arena. This can be evident from India’s role in a number of multilateral bodies, where it played a pivotal role in protecting the interests of Global South countries and ensuring energy justice.
India’s approach to harnessing renewable energy at the global level lies in ensuring energy justice for the global community and achieving the sustainable development goals outlined by the United Nations. Thus, India is providing the necessary leadership to the global community to achieve a sustainable energy transition.
The author teaches at the School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.
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