States’ role India’s energy transition

In the upcoming G20 forum, India is planning to propose a multiple energy pathways approach to accommodate the diverse contexts and development trajectories of countries, for which States of India, plays a very important role.

• As India’s climate and energy targets are both at a confluence, it is important to look at the trajectory of growth and development.
• States are critical actors in India’s energy transition as there is a multi-tier governance of energy production and usage.
• An effective transition will require bridging the ambitions and implementation gaps between the Centre and the States.
• Simultaneously, national ambitions need to factor the varying incentive structures, processes, and institutional capacities at the State level.

Present scenario:

• As of today only Gujarat, Karnataka, and Rajasthan met their individual targets in terms of achieving sustainable energy.
• Moreover, about 80% of the current renewable energy capacity is confined to six states in the west and south of India.
• According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), a quarter of India’s energy demand can be met with renewable energy.
• The country could potentially increase its share of renewable power generation to over one-third by 2030.
  
  

Estimated energy potential in India:

• For 2006, the renewable potential was estimated as 85,000 MW with wind 4500 MW, solar 35 MW, biomass/bioenergy 25,000 MW, and small hydropower of 15,000 MW.
• For Solar energy: India is a tropical country and receives significant radiation, and hence the solar potential is very high.

Why do states matter?

• States are important entry points to engage with policy visions, plans and actions.
• States as spheres of implementation are critical to the realisation of national targets.
• The legacy issues in the electricity sector, such as high losses, unreliable supply and service quality, if left addressed, could be exacerbated by the transition.
• States as laboratories of policy innovations have been instrumental to India’s energy transition.
• States could also be roadblocks to national goals, particularly when the goals are perceived to be misaligned with State priorities.
• For example: PM KUSUM is an adoption of successful State experiments on the solarisation of agriculture at a national scale.

Way forward:

• Centre must mandate to update the State Action Plans on Climate Change, recommendations to set up State-level steering committees for energy transitions, and regular meetings of the Central and state energy ministers reinforce the importance of States.
• Central agencies have also developed multiple indexes that rank States on different aspects of energy transition.
• There is a need to complement analysis of State-level preparedness for energy transition.