Touted as the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gas, India is steadily on its way to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The targets that the country has set itself are closer to being achieved and even surpassed. Sadia Sohail explains the newest study on India’s energy policy. The government policy intends to achieve 175 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2022. Of these, 100 GW will be from solar, 60 GW wind energy, 10 GW small hydropower and 5 GW of biomass based power projects. At the end of first quarter of 2017, about 59 GW are installed according to official figures. Furthermore, India’s commitment in the UNFCCC process includes achieving 40 per cent of electrical power from non-fossil sources by 2030. As the current figure stand already at about 31 per cent, this latter target is likely to be superseded, although it needs to be noted that large-scale hydro as well as nuclear power is included here, i.e. energy options not generally compatible with sustainability concerns. Over the last decade, electricity … Continue reading India’s energy transition: potential and prospects