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India on the road to a renewable energy revolution?

India’s energy future: Australian coal or renewable revolution? The Conversation,  Craig Froome Global Change Institute – Clean Energy Program Manager at University of Queensland “…….…Renewable revolution?

India’s renewable energy ambitions are driven both by the need to reduce carbon emissions and by falling renewableenergy prices (relative to increasing coal prices).

Currently India has four renewable energy schemes. They are:

• Renewable Mix Target (Electricity)
• Renewable Capacity Target
• Renewable Portfolio Standard (PAT Scheme)
• Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission

The Renewable Mix Target sets a target of 15% of India’s total electricity generation by 2020. This target ignores large-scale hydroelectricity, but with renewable energy generation currently at 12% India is in a good starting position.

The Renewable Capacity Target is a target for installed capacity. Set in 2012, it aims for 41.3 gigawatts of installed renewable capacity by 2017, increasing to 72.4 gigawatts by 2022. As of March 31 India has 29.5 gigawatts installed capacity. The capacity target also sets ambitions for individual technologies 4 to 20 gigawatts of solar capacity, and 20.2 gigawatts to 27.3 gigawatts of wind energy by 2017 and 2022. Solar and wind currently stand at 2.2 and 20.2 gigawatts respectively.

The portfolio standard is a cap-and-trade scheme, due to end in 2015. Current estimates suggest the scheme has had the desired effect, and rules for continuing the scheme are being considered.

Finally, the solar mission is a solar-specific program to increase grid-based generation to 20 gigawatts by 2020, funded by a national feed-in tariff. More than 80 solar manufacturers are now establishing in India in anticipation for the roll out……..http://theconversation.com/indias-energy-future-australian-coal-or-renewable-revolution-26569

June 5, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, renewable