India to set minimum percentage of renewable energy use by industrial units

According to a report by the Press Information Bureau of India on October 30, 2021, India’s Ministry of Power, after consultations with stakeholders, has formulated an amendment to the Energy Conservation Act, 2001, which provides for a minimum percentage of renewable energy in the total energy consumption by industrial units and establishments. The proposed amendment includes a provision to incentivize efforts to use clean energy sources through carbon saving certificates. According to Power Minister Shri R.K. Singh, a meeting was held by Shri Alok Kumar (Secretary), Ministry of Power, with the stakeholders from Ministries and organizations on October 28, 2021, to discuss and finalize the amendment. To address climate change, India has pledged an ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) of reducing its emission sources by 33-35% in 2030 against the levels of 2005.

To review the proposed amendment in detail, four consultation meetings (one national consultation workshop and three regional consultations) were held. As a result of the consultations, the proposed amendment was designed to facilitate the development of carbon market in India and provide for minimum consumption of renewable energy either as direct consumption or indirect use through grid. This will reduce fossil fuel based energy consumption and carbon emissions into the atmosphere. India has set a goal of achieving more than 40% of its cumulative installed electric power capacity from non-fossil fuel energy resources by 2030. Furthermore, by adopting energy efficiency measures, India holds the potential to reduce about 550Mt CO2 by 2030.

The proposed amendment to the Act encourages the adoption of clean technologies in various sectors of economy and is expected to facilitate promotion of environmentally friendly hydrogen. By adopting carbon credits and providing additional incentives for the deployment of clean technologies, the private sector is expected to become more involved in climate actions.

In the context of rising energy demand and global climate change, the government of India has come up with this amendment in order to achieve higher levels of renewable energy penetration in end-use sectors such as industry, buildings, and transport.

As of December 22, 2021, the proposed amendment has not been published in the Official Gazette.

The original text of this article can be viewed at the following URL.
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1767783