India Plans $109 Billion of Grid Investments to Boost Renewables

By Charles Kennedy - Oct 15, 2024,

India plans a massive upgrade and expansion of its power transmission system, expecting investment opportunities of $109 billion to support the integration of renewable energy sources and storage solutions, the power ministry has said.

India’s new National Electricity Plan (Transmission) envisages the addition of hundreds of thousands of kilometers of transmission lines, transformation capacity, and inter-regional transmission capacity by 2032.

India aims to have 500 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity installed by 2030 and more than 600 GW by 2032, according to the National Electricity Plan.

The country expects its power demand to surge to 708 GW by 2047, India’s Power Minister Manohar Lal said in a statement. To meet this demand, India needs to quadruple its power capacity, the minister added.

“This is not just about increasing capacity; it's about reimagining our entire energy landscape,” Lal said.

“We have set an ambitious target of 500 GW of non-fossil energy capacity by 2030, effectively doubling our current capacity,” he added.

This push towards green energy aligns with India’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions by one billion tons by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2070, the power ministry said.

Last month, Renewables Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi said that financial institutions had pledged $386 billion in investment commitments to help India boost its renewable energy industry.

The country will need to install at least 44 GW of clean energy capacity every year by the end of the decade to meet the 500-GW goal, according to Bloomberg’s estimates based on data from the Indian Ministry of Power.

“We received overwhelming commitments from states and Union Territories as well as from the developers, manufacturers, and financial institutes to support our goal of 500 GW by 2030,” Joshi said at the annual Renewable Energy Investor's Meet and Expo in India.

India-based conglomerates Reliance Industries and Adani are among the companies that have pledged additional renewable energy capacity. Reliance committed 100 GW of additional renewable capacity, and Adani Green Energy pledged to develop 38.8 GW of capacity.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com