The Ministry of Power’s recent move to define the renewable power obligation for wind energy is expected to result in an estimated 58 GW of wind power installations by 2030 going by the Central Electrical Authority (CEA) demand projections.
“The recent order of the Ministry of Power now has a separate class for wind RPO (Renewable Purchase Obligation) with a clear increase in the wind RPO trajectory. This increased trajectory ensures that at least a minimum quantum of wind energy is installed in the country,” said Mr Tulsi Tanti, Chairman, CII Renewable Energy Council, Chairman and Managing Director, Suzlon Group.
The wind energy sector has been constrained with restricted installations over the last few years. Terming the move “welcome and visionary”, Mr Tanti added that the importance of wind energy and its contribution to achieving India’s overall RE targets will be a crucial deciding factor in realizing India’s energy transition roadmap.
Further elaborating the impact of the move, Mr Tanti said, “If properly mandated and enforced, this RPO ensures the sustainable growth of the wind energy industry from 0.81% in 2023 to 6.94% by 2030. Even by rough estimates this will lead to an additional 58 GW of wind power installations by 2030 taking into account CEA demand projections. Over and above this there is a sizeable chunk of Commercial & Industrial (C&I) customers who are obligated for RPO fulfilment which will further add to RE installations in the country. This will go a long way in the achievement of our national RE targets by 2030 and fulfil our commitments at COP26.” India has committed to be net zero by 2070.
Apart from the wind energy RPO, the government (MNRE – Ministry of New and Renewable Energy) is working on several other initiatives for wind energy, like reviewing the e-reverse bidding, Inter-State Transmission System waivers, promoting Renewable Energy through Green Energy Open Access, pursuing the CPSU (Central Public Sector Undertaking) scheme and an offshore wind energy policy. “As an industry, we wholeheartedly appreciate and welcome these initiatives. Not only will this help to boost the wind energy sector but will also allow better utilization of our domestic manufacturing capacities, in line of our AatmaNirbhar Bharat vision and go a long way in ensuring energy security, creating local sustainable jobs and huge saving of oil imports,” said Tanti.
“CII will continue to work as an industry body to partner with the government on these and many more initiatives and we are confident that these are steps in the right direction,” added Tanti.
Source: cii
