Indian Renewable Energy Status Report: Background Report for DIREC 2010

Abstract

and 10,000 MW by 2022. India is on track to meet the first goal-currently there are 351 MW of approved CSP projects in Gujarat and another 30 MW in Rajasthan.SWH technology presents an opportunity to avoid using electricity or liquefied petroleum gas for heating water in India. It has applications in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. India has approximately 3.5 million m 2 of installed SWH collector area out of an estimated potential of 40 million m 2 . Several programs are in place to accelerate deployment of SWH, including the provision of low-interest loans and incorporation of SWH into the building code. Chapter 5, Small Hydro, presents the status of small hydropower in India, defined by the Government of India as hydropower plants up to 25 MW, including the identified potential and contribution to India's rural electrification efforts.MNRE has estimated India's small hydro potential at more than 15,000 MW and is constantly revising this number upwards as new sites are identified; more than 40% of this potential has been identified in four northern, mountainous states. Capital incentives are in place to support installation of new small hydropower plants, as well as to renovate and modernize existing plants. In addition to direct subsidies at the state and national level, small hydro plants may also qualify for low-interest loans and income tax exemptions. CERC also offers preferential tariffs for small hydro plants with the tariff amount and time period varied depending on project size and location.High capacity factors have been observed at small hydro plants in remote, mountainous regions of India, and small hydro has the lowest levelized costs of energy of any renewable technology in India. These factors have contributed to small hydro's importance in India's rural electrification efforts, with both federal and state programs supporting small hydro as a means of supplying electricity to villages where providing access to the central grid is challenging. Chapter 6, Bioenergy, covers bioenergy in India and discusses the status and potential for biogas, solid biomass, and biofuels.Traditional biomass, such as wood and cow dung, have historically played an important part in India's energy supply, and they still supply cooking energy to almost all of India's rural population. By utilizing organic waste and agricultural output, India can incorporate modern bioenergy as a substantial part into its future energy mix.There are approximately 4 million installed household biogas plants in India with almost 4,000 additional units supplying household clusters or villages; cattle manure is the primary feedstock for these household plants. MNRE estimates that available cattle manure could support approximately 12 million household biogas plants. Larger-scale biogas facilities use industrial wastewater to generate electricity, and the 48 such plants in India have an aggregate installed capacity of 70 MW. MNRE estimates the total capacity potential for industrial biogas to be 1.3 GW. National and state...

Biomass energy policies and strategies: Harvesting potential in India and Indonesia

“…The strategy had targeted the blending of 5% bioethanol in petrol by 2010 [31]. In addition, the government facilitates and brings about the optimal development and application of indigenous biomass feedstocks for biofuels production [31,32]. Furthermore, recently, the strategic plan of new and renewable energy 2011-2017 encourages the exploration of advanced conversion technologies for second generation biofuels.…”

“…At an international level, a number of multinational companies and international institutions (e.g. USAID-US Agency for International Development) involved in the biomass power plants supply chain have also affected the more extensive stakeholder network [32]. Several United Nations branch organizations are also actively involved in the development of the Indian biomass sector.…”

Technology Development Prospects for the Indian Power Sector

“…Of this, 2.5 GW had already been tapped by the end of 2009 and projects amounting to around 1.9 GW are in various stages of implementation (Arora et al, 2010).…”

The hidden winners of renewable energy promotion: Insights into sector-specific wage differentials

“…However, the total employment decreased slightly in 2012, which reflects the current dynamic market situation. On an international level, several studies observe positive employment development in the area of RE, for example in the USA (Sommers 2013), Canada (Böhringer et al 2012), China and India (Poschen 2012;Arora 2010).…”