‘India must spur green energy projects’
2 min read 15 Jan 2023, 10:06 PM ISTRenewables are intermittent in nature but are available in abundance in most parts of India. You can reap the benefits by converting renewable sources into generation and then effectively transmitting power
PremiumIndia should increase the pace of transmission work by two-three times to realize its ambitious targets, especially setting up of high voltage direct current (HVDC) corridors, N. Venu, the chief executive and managing director of Hitachi Energy India Ltd, said in an interview. Venu’s observations are significant as the Centre is working on a roadmap to boost the power transmission sector to install 500 GW of green energy by 2030. Hitachi works on HVDC projects in India. Edited excerpts:
Considering the Centre’s renewable energy target by 2030, what is your view on upgrading the grid?
Renewables are intermittent in nature but are available in abundance in most parts of India. You can reap the benefits by converting renewable sources into generation and then effectively transmitting power. 500 GW by 2030 is an ambitious goal. To achieve it we must do 2-2.5 times more than what we have been doing now from a holistic standpoint both for generation and transition. We have also been talking about HVDC projects. Earlier, we used to set up one HVDC project every five years. Now, we see one VDC project every wo years on anm average. We must have more HVDC projects as part of the ambitions of renewable generation and transmission targets. Transmission is the backbone of the government’s strategy; without transmission you will not be able to accomplish it; this also includes several HVDC transmission corridors, which will transport bulk energy for long distances from generation sectors to demand centres. Massive opportunities are arising out of the initiatives for various companies, including Hitachi Energy.
With concerns of a global recession, what is the outlook for Hitachi Energy’s growth and what would be the drivers of that growth?
Interest rates have gone up globally, including India. We have managed interest rates well in India. By 2030 we want 50% of India’s energy coming from renewable sources, and the Centre has announced the transmission plan to achieve it. So, demand drivers are very robust. Hitachi Energy is very confident on the long-term growth from renewables, transmission, and high-growth segments such as the data centres and data storage.But as always, we are cautiously optimistic for the near term, in view of the recession in the US or Europe. We are not insulated, it will definitely have an impact on us. Hitachi Energy’s investment strategy and expansion strategy keep in mind the long-term demand drivers.
What are your expansion plans for India?
We are constantly looking at our product portfolio and also looking at r demand. Now our target is to increase exports to 25% of what we produce here. We have identified many markets around the world, and are also looking at demand arising out of various initiatives here.
You have a presence in data centres in India. What are your plans?
India’s data centre market is one of the growth drivers primarily fuelled by the data privacy law and the huge amount of data generated, and how to store it. We play in hyperscale data centres and expect capacity to reach 1,700-1,800 MW by FY25 from 870 MW now.
