The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LNBL) reported a detailed study this week that concluded that India could satisfy its electricity demand by 2030.
“The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LNBL) this week released an in-depth study of India’s future power system investments,” government officials said in a press release. "These targets are critical to meeting global climate goals as India is the world’s third-largest energy consuming country," government officials said in a press release.
The Flexible Resources Initiative (FRI) of the U.S.-India Clean Energy Finance Task Force, managed by the State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources spearheaded the research on the report.
A news release reported that the research was enhanced by a report on important policy and regulatory recommendations, which if employed, would help the Asian country to achieve the 2030 objectives at a low cost.
“The study, 'Least Cost Pathway for India’s Power System Investments through 2030,' found that dramatic cost reductions over the last decade in energy sources, such as solar and flexible resources, like battery storage, make it affordable for India to meet its growing power demand dependably over the next decade, while at the same time reducing electricity costs by 8-10% and emissions intensity of electricity supply by 43-50% from 2020 levels,” the news release said.
The research concluded that if the suggested policy and regulatory recommendations are achieved “only 23 gigawatts of net additions to the coal capacity will be needed if battery storage costs continue to decline, supply chain issues are addressed, and adequate financing is secured.”
“These recommendations include a nuanced long-term resource adequacy framework for system planning and procurement, and reforms of India’s gas pipeline operations to enable cost-effective, flexible operations of India’s existing gas power plants for seasonal balancing,” the news release said. “These recommended regulatory changes will promote optimal investments, help avoid overbuilding assets and assure the rapid retirement of uneconomic assets.”
