To begin with, despite campaigning for a green and a cleaner India, the State and the Central governments are not even opting for renewable energy sources or switching from using fossil fuels which is the source of all the carbon emission overhauls.
Moreover, there are varied sources of non-renewable sources, which are healthier alternatives and especially they don’t run the risk of polluting the atmosphere.
Challenges of renewable energy sources
For instance, renewables in India are varied from the renewables which are deployed in the U.S., Europe, etc. And understanding these differences is key to viable policies. However, there are specific differences and needs that demand deeper analysis for the long-run viability of renewable energy. Making renewables viable for producers is easy but can the rest of the system handle that? Because of pricing subsidies as well as high losses both technical and commercial, i.e., theft, utilities already lose on average about a rupee, if not more, per kilowatt-hour sold.
Why is India different than other nations in terms of using renewable energy sources?
To begin with, India is different because its grid is very weak and unstable, and instead of having a reasonable reserve margin, typically 15-20 percent in the west, there is a shortfall in the grid, officially in the range of 5 percent or so but actually much higher. Even the Grid Code is modest, recommending only a 5 percent margin. The grid is kept afloat through massive “load-shedding”. Such load shedding even impacts options like rooftop solar, since grid-tie inverters are designed to switch off during outages or faults, for safety reasons but if the grid is quaffed so much, then the economics of rooftop solar takes a stupendous hit due to the unattainability of power.
