Solar power capacity in India can increase by 4 times in the next 10 years, while wind power capacity is expected to increase by 3 times. This information has been given in the report of a consultant of the Ministry of Power. According to the report, due to increasing renewable energy, dependence on coal in generating electricity will reduce. Currently it is more than 70%, which may reduce to around 49% by 2035-36. These figures have been given in the report of Central Electricity Authority (CEA).
According to CEA, the total electricity capacity generated from non-fossil fuels (non-coal/non-oil) can reach 786 GW by 2035-36. The share of solar energy in this will be around 65%.
Nuclear energy capacity will increase 3 times
During this period, the capacity of nuclear energy can increase 3 times to 22 GW, while the capacity of large hydro projects can increase by 50% to 77 GW. Apart from this, the capacity of pumped storage hydropower (generating electricity by storing water) can increase 13 times to 94 GW. Battery storage capacity can also increase from the current 0.27 GW to 80 GW by 2035-36.
The country’s power sector is changing
The plan to add such a large amount of new capacity is being made so that intermittent sources of energy like solar and wind can be balanced and the supply of electricity can be maintained continuously. This change shows that India’s power sector is gradually changing completely. Now, along with including renewable energy on a large scale in the long-term plan, attention is also being given to storage (batteries etc.) and power generation systems as per need.