The role of renewables for rapid transitioning of the power sector across states in India

Abstract

Recent events like heatwaves and abnormal rainfall are a glimpse of the devastating effects of human induced climate change. No country is immune to its effects, but a developing country like India is particularly vulnerable. This research, for the individual states of India, explores the technical feasibility and economic viability of a renewable transition pathway for the power sector. Based on the assumptions of this study, we show that a renewables-based power system by 2050 is lower in cost than the current coal dominated system, has zero greenhouse gas emissions and provides reliable electricity to around 1.7 billion people. Electricity generation will be based on solar PV, wind energy, and hydropower, while batteries and multi-fuel reciprocating internal combustion engines based on synthetic fuels provide the required flexibility to the power system. This transition would address multiple imperatives: affordability, accessibility, and sustainability without compromising economic growth.

Spatially resolved land and grid model of carbon neutrality in China

“…For reference, we validated the generation layers model by fixing 2020 capacities, demand and costs, and optimizing only operations. Based on this exercise, our model estimates present-day costs at 0.36 yuan/kWh, nearly the same as our 2060 results, indicating that China’s future power system may be cost-effective by today’s terms with assumed technological improvement, similar to previous results from studies on China ( 51 ) and India ( 52 ). In the extreme case of no further cost reduction of low-carbon technologies by 2060, the system cost per kWh would be about 50% higher (0.54 yuan/kWh).…”

“…Spatial characteristics of renewable energy create heterogeneity in generation output as a function of siting, and standard formulations usually aggregate renewable resource profiles into a small number of clusters per load zone to maintain computational tractability ( 16 , 18 , 24 , 30 , 52 , 57 ). We compare our high spatial resolution modeling approach with a “VRE Cell Clustered” scenario which combines cells within each province into several clusters by VRE type based on their hourly capacity factor profiles and distance to load centers (see details in SI Appendix , section 2.7 ).…”

The role of repowering India’s ageing wind farms in achieving net-zero ambitions

“…The co-variability of generation with demand for electrical energy is another dynamic factor not considered here, and other work has noted how the anti-phasing between wind generation and air temperatures in India contributes to enhanced variability in electricity demand net of wind generation on intra-seasonal timescales [83]. However, other studies have suggested possible compensatory generation from solar PV on diurnal [84] and seasonal timescales [33], with the phasing of the annual cycle of wind and solar PV generation particularly advantageous in the South of India [85]. Further investigation of potential balancing between these two sources is warranted, given the importance of wind and solar PV technologies within India's national renewable targets.…”

“…Detailed analyses of changes in energy yield are limited to case studies of individual wind farms [22][23][24][25]. Other studies have used detailed energy system model representations of the Indian electricity network to assess operational reliability consistent with the expanded use of wind technology [26][27][28], while others have focussed on quantifying technically achievable wind resource potential [29][30][31] and spatio-temporal generation patterns thereof [32][33][34]. However, these studies offer few insights into the relative performance of the existing versus repowered wind fleet, principally because they lack adequate characterisation of existing wind farms.…”

From Smart Grids to Super Smart Grids: A Roadmap for Strategic Demand Management for Next Generation SAARC and European Power Infrastructure

“…Last but not least, there are two strong arguments that are at odds with one another; full cost optimization, which favor's higher pv-battery shares, and more resource variety, which favor's firm increases of wind and CSP or encourages higher shares of geothermal and ocean energy, both of which increase system energy costs. Energy system evaluations are finding more and more evidence of the PV-battery-electrolyzer nexus's significant system influence globally [169], [235], and even more locally, such as in China [315], [316], India [317], and Africa [318], [319]. Based on cost developments, material requirements, and regional acceptability, battery storage and boosted hydro energy saving may interact [320], [321], as the potential for pumped hydro energy storage may be far more than most studies have assumed so far [322].…”