India’s solar power tariffs to fall further: Raj Kumar Singh

With India’ solar power tariff hitting a new low of ₹2 per unit on Monday, the rapidly expanding green economy has become its calling card on climate change. The previously lowest recorded solar tariff in the country was of ₹2.36 per unit.

Speaking at Maldives country session during the ongoing third edition of global renewable energy investors’ meet and expo (RE-Invest) on Saturday Singh said, “I am certain that in future bids that the tariffs will come down further."

This assumes significance given India running what will become the world’s largest clean energy programme with an aim of having 175 GW of clean energy capacity by 2022 as part of its global climate change commitments. Of this 100GW is to come from solar projects.

These record low bids comes at a time when the US President designate Joe Biden has promised a ‘Clean Energy Revolution’. Biden’s campaign promise includes ensuring that the US “reaches net-zero emissions no later than 2050", recommitting to the Paris Agreement on the first day of his administration, and “a federal investment of $1.7 trillion over the next ten years."

“I believe that tariffs will reduce further in our country," Singh said while adding that India has decided to green its economy be it in terms of cooking, mobility and now green hydrogen for manufacturing steel and green ammonia for helping meet the country’s fertiliser needs.

In a major push for India’s energy security efforts, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is planning to leverage electricity for induction cooking. The government plans to provide induction stoves to poor households in rural and urban India, as reported by Mint earlier.

“We are greening our economy," Singh said.

India plans to launch a National Hydrogen Energy Mission, buttressing India’s green energy credentials with the carbon emission-free next-generation fuel. India plans to build green hydrogen plants that will run on electricity produced by green energy sources and help reduce dependence on fossil fuels for mobility. They will provide grid-scale storage solutions, and provide feedstock for ammonia production.

Any substitution of fuels for cooking, heating and mobility will improve India’s per capita power consumption of around 1,200kWh, which is among the lowest in the world. India, the world’s third largest crude oil importer spent $111.9 billion on oil imports in FY19. Apart from a threat of supply shocks, every dollar per barrel increase in crude prices, ups India’s import bill by ₹10,700 crore on an annualized basis.

Singh added that India is on track on meeting its climate targets and said India is one of very few countries to have met its commitment.

India has been rapidly expanding its clean energy capacity at low tariffs and is on track to meet and exceed its Paris Agreement targets. India plans to reduce its carbon footprint by 33-35% from its 2005 levels by 2030, as part of its commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted by 195 countries in Paris in 2015.

“I think we are doing something right," Singh said and added that India will partner with Maldives in whichever way the atoll nation desires.