Government is thinking of Permitting
Accrual of Carbon Credits for Exported Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia
·
Round-the-clock Renewable Energy will Cost just
about Rs. 6 per unit if Green Hydrogen is Used for Storage
The Union Minister
for Power and New & Renewable Energy R. K. Singh has said that
round-the-clock renewable energy will cost just about Rs. 6 per unit if green
hydrogen is used for storage. Speaking at the Special Ministerial Session of
the Fourth International Conference & Exhibition on Clean Energy in New
Delhi today, R. K. Singh said that the cost of Green Hydrogen would be cheapest
in India and that the Green Hydrogen would become a viable energy storage
alternative. “Green hydrogen is cheaper than gas and battery energy storage
systems. We have come up with a pilot bid for about 100 MW which we hope will
establish the benchmark. Once we are able to use green hydrogen for our energy
requirements, all supply chain issues such as availability of lithium-ion batteries
will be resolved. We will make green hydrogen and use it as storage. The
average price of power in the energy exchange has recently been Rs. 8 per unit,
so if our cost for round-the-clock renewable energy comes to Rs. 6 per unit, we
are in business. That is what the future is: renewables. The future is here,
not far away.” The theme of the Special Ministerial Session, held on the
closing day of the two-day summit, was “Global Champions for Advancing Clean
Energy Innovation & Manufacturing”.
The Minister
informed the industry that the basic legal framework for carbon market has been
formulated and that the government is thinking of permitting the industry gain
carbon credits for green hydrogen and green ammonia which is exported from
India. With this, the industry will have yet another advantage, which will make
Indian industry totally competitive, added the Minister.
“I have written to
all industry captains to switch over from thermal to renewables”
The Minister said
that the renewable energy industry of India is now world-beating, consisting of
majors who can compete anywhere. Shri Singh told the industry that the
government has made sure that it has opened the paths for the growth of the
industry. “We have been leading with policy papers, rules and regulations,
opening new doors. We came with Green Open Access Rules, where we have given
right for anybody to set up capacity anywhere and transfer it to wherever they
want. I have written to all industry captains to switch over from thermal to renewables,
this shift will also bring down price of energy.”
“We have made the
power system friendly to both industry and to consumers”
The Minister
informed that the spirit of Electricity Act 2003 is open access and that
timelines for grant of open access have been given in the Act. “If grant of
open access is not given within the timeline, it will be deemed to have been
granted. Somebody will have to answer if it is not given; the person who heads
that institution such as a State Electricity Authority will be punished if the
law is violated.”
Shri Singh added
that the government has made the power system friendly to industry and to
consumers. “We came up with consumer rights; we will investigate whether the
violation has happened, and we will file a prosecution in the court of law.”
“India is emerging
as a manufacturing powerhouse of renewable energy”
Speaking of the
rapidly growing energy demand, the Minister said that energy demand of the
country will continue to grow rapidly since our economy is growing fast. “We
need energy demand as fast as possible to meet this demand. We will make the
electricity required for our growth. If our price for round-the-clock renewable
energy is anything to go by, then we will not have to go the thermal way, we
will adopt the renewable path. About 42% of our capacity is from renewable
sources already.”
The Minister pointed
out that India is emerging as a manufacturing powerhouse of renewable energy.
“Around 88,000 MW renewable energy capacity is under construction and our plan
is to add 50,000 MW of renewable energy capacity every year. We are already
emerging as an exporter. The world will come to rely on us more and more. So,
all those who are setting up capacity have made a good bet. At the same time,
we need to keep ourselves at the leading edge of technology.” The Minister
added that India is going to emerge as the biggest exporter of solar cells and
modules and that more grid capacity is being added.
“RE Investment is
coming, era of huge growth for renewable energy”
The Power and New
& Renewable Energy Minister said that more and more people are going to
come and invest in renewable energy sector in the country. “UAE wants to make
investment here, since they see the future here. Getting investment for green
transition is not an issue, investment is coming since we have de-risked the
system and made the whole system transparent. Every
generator’s power bills are totally up-to-date. Legacy dues of discoms have been reduced to less than half of what they
were, and this too will be wiped out in next 2 – 3 years. Every genco is now profitable. AT&C losses have come down and
the system is totally viable now. Everything has been made conditional on
prudential norms.”
The Minister
informed that 5.8 million tons of green hydrogen at various stages of capacity
is already being set up, under the National Green Hydrogen Mission. “We will be
the biggest exporter since our green hydrogen and green ammonia cost is going
to be the lowest in the world. And we will come up with another bid for grid
scale storage. All that you have to do is to take advantage of the growing
demand. Future Renewable Energy Purchase Obligations are going to be issued
under the revised Energy Conservation Act. If any obligated entity falls short,
they will have to pay a huge penalty.”
The Minister assured
the industry that this is an era of huge growth for energy. “I believe all of
you are fully confident and capable of the huge opportunities lying there for
you. We want Make in India and manufacturing in India. But if you are not
competitive and up-to-date, you will not succeed. I want all of you to be
world-scale.”
“Potential for India
to become a global champion in Renewable Energy”
On the occasion, a
CII - EY Report titled “Global champions for advancing renewable energy
innovation and manufacturing” was released.
The report notes
that India's energy transition holds potential for India to become a global
champion for advancing renewable energy innovation and manufacturing. The
report proposes an energy transition investment pipeline and identifies
enablers for advancing supply chain resilience. Read the report here.
Launch of a Platform
to Track Energy Transition Investments
The event also saw the release of
“Energy Transition Investment Monitor”, a collaborative analytics platform for
global investors to identify and track energy transition investments
(announced, under bidding, permitting, construction, etc.) from concept to
commissioning.
The Energy Transition Investment
Monitor platform can be accessed here. Upon
registration, any user can get full and free access to the dashboard and its
features.
The 4th International
Conference & Exhibition on Clean Energy brought together industry leaders,
veterans, experts and policymakers from around the world to showcase
world-leading renewable energy innovation, products and services, facilitate
knowledge sharing and collaboration for catalysing global efforts in building
self-reliant supply chains.