Davos 2023 | India has already achieved renewable energy target: Power Minister
Davos 2023: India has achieved its renewable energy transition target nine years ahead of schedule, Power Minister RK Singh said in an interaction with CNBC-TV18’s Shereen Bhan on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum at Davos on Thursday. But the country will import coal if needed, he added.
India has achieved its renewable energy transition target nine years ahead of time, Power Minister R.K. Singh said in an interaction with CNBC-TV18’s Shereen Bhan on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos on Thursday, January 19. “We already (have) one of the largest renewable energy capacities in the world. Our rate of our energy transition is the fastest in the world. We achieved our end. This is a good nine years in advance,” Singh said.
Stressing that 42 percent of the total capacity today was based on renewables, he said this was achieved despite all the turbulence, and still the supply and prices are constant.
“We can transfer 112,000 megawatts of power from one corner of the country to another. India is now one market. So you can generate power in Bengal and sell in Maharashtra. We have two huge exchanges. We have strengthened the distribution system. The availability of power is now an average of 22 and a half hours. We added 29 million new consumers,” he said.
Singh noted that India has emerged as the most attractive destination for investment in renewables in the world, and so major funds in the world are investing in companies in India.
“Every bid is hotly contested. By and large, as money is concerned, the rest of the world may have problems in getting investment. I haven't had,” he said. “And my capacity today is 177,000 megawatts of non-fossil. I haven't had to put in a single paisa. It's all investments coming through different companies,” he added.
Singh revealed that India already has concrete plans for manufacturing six million tonnes of green hydrogen and 30 million tonnes of green ammonia already.
The power minister stressed that even as India’s transition to non-fossil fuels grows at pace, the country will not compromise on supply and will import coal if needed even though coal availability has been a challenge.
“But let me tell you one thing blunt, plain and simple. There will be no question of any shortage of electricity supply for that. If I have to import coal, I’ll share; let there be no doubt. I'm not going to compromise with the availability of electricity for the growth of the country or for a higher standard of living for our people,” he said.
On the Joshimath land subsidence which had affected NTPC power project there, Singh clarified that the project is located 15 km from the place where the land sinking is happening. The project was stopped despite it being not the cause of the subsidence, he declared.
Watch the video for the entire interview
(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)
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