Alternative Energy in India
By: Anupama Sen
India faces a significant long-term challenge in transitioning towards environmentally sustainable economic growth, as half of its population currently lacks any form of access to modern commercial energy. The share of commercial energy in total primary energy consumption stood at 72% in 2007; a large proportion of the rural population thus continues to rely on commercially non-traded energy sources. ‘Alternative energy’ generally refers to energy produced without the environmentally undesirable effects of fossil fuels, and includes renewable sources. However, in India it would also include fuel sources that have been perceived to have a small but growing consumer base, which by their departure from more conventional sources could qualify as ‘alternative’. In 2008, the Indian government launched an eight-point National Action Plan on Climate Change to be implemented in three phases, which envisages significant investment and a push towards renewable energy by 2032. Given the dominance of coal in the energy mix, the urgency to extend the outreach of energy, and the divisions of public opinion on climate-oriented development strategy, where does alternative energy really stand in the Indian energy mix, in the medium and long term? This study will investigate this question using empirical methods to first place the position of alternative energy within the broader energy portfolio in India, and to then examine this in the context of India’s recent policy targets on alternative energy.
Categories / Country and Regional Studies, Energy Economics, Energy Policy