NEWS

A report prepared by JMK Research and Analytics and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis says India will likely miss its 2022 target of installing 100GW of solar power capacity

INDIA’S SOLAR POLICY

• The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), also known as the National Solar Mission (NSM), which commenced in January 2010, marked the first time the government focussed on promoting and developing solar power in India. Under the scheme, the total installed capacity target was set as 20GW by 2022
• In 2015, the target was revised to 100GW and in August 2021, the government set a solar target of 300GW by 2030.
• Since 2011, India’s solar sector has grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 59% from 0.5GW in 2011 to 55GW in 2021
• India currently ranks fifth after China, U.S., Japan and Germany in terms of installed solar power capacity
• As of December 2021, the cumulative solar installed capacity of India is 55GW, which is roughly half the renewable energy (RE) capacity (excluding large hydro power) and 14% of the overall power generation capacity of India
• Within the 55GW, grid-connected utility-scale projects contribute 77% and the rest comes from grid-connected rooftop and off-grid projects.

ISSUES AT PRESENT

• A 25GW shortfall in the 40GW rooftop solar target, is expected compared to 1.8GW in the utility-scale solar target by December 2022. Thus, it is in rooftop solar that the challenges of India’s solar-adoption policy stick out.
• The disruption in supply chains due to the pandemic was a key impediment to rooftop solar adoption

HOW CRITICAL IS SOLAR POWER TO INDIA’S COMMITMENT TO MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE?

• Solar power is a major prong of India’s commitment to address global warming according to the terms of the Paris Agreement, as well as achieving net zero, or no net carbon emissions, by 2070
• To boost the renewable energy installation drive in the long term, the Centre in 2020 set a target of 450GW of RE-based installed capacity to be achieved by 2030, within which the target for solar was 300GW