India makes progress on energy access, needs ‘ambition’ on efficiency – IEA

In its first review of the country’s energy policies, the IEA highlighted the fact that India’s energy demand is set to double by 2040, and its electricity demand may triple. Indian oil consumption is also expected to grow faster than that of any other major economy. 

Around 700mn people in India gained access to electricity between 2000 and 2018, which the report says reflects strong and effective policy implementation by government. Meanwhile, the country’s electricity security has improved significantly through the creation of a single national power system, as well as major investments in thermal and renewable capacity. 

‘India’s energy policy is a global story,’ says Shri R K Singh, the country’s Minister for Power and Renewable Energy. ‘India has the largest unified power grid that operates in single frequency. India has moved from scarcity to surplus electricity over the past few years while implementing the largest and the fastest energy access and energy efficiency programmes in the world.’ Recent IEA analysis showed that in 2018, India’s investment in solar PV was greater than in all fossil fuel sources of electricity generation combined. However, the report says that a diverse range of energy flexibility investments is now needed to successfully integrate variable renewable capacity. 

This flexibility is available from the country’s large – and rapidly expanding – coal fleet, natural gas capacity, variable renewables themselves, energy storage, demand-side response and power grids. 

Coal continues to be the largest domestic source of energy supply and electricity generation in India. 

As air pollution regulations grow more stringent, the IEA says that new coal plants that are more efficient and lower in emissions will be better positioned for economic viability. An efficient coal sector will not only be important for electricity generation, according to the report, but also for industrial development in areas such as steel, cement and fertilisers. 

Rapid and continued improvements in energy efficiency will be key to consolidating the gains India has made in terms of electricity access. The country will need to add massive amounts of power generation capacity to meet demand from the 1bn airc onditioning units it’s expected to have by 2050. 

By raising its level of ambition on energy efficiency, the IEA predicts that India could save some $190bn per year in energy imports by 2040 and avoid electricity generation of 875 TWh per year – almost half of its current annual power generation. With a population of 1.4bn and one of the world’s fastest growing major economies, 

Dr Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of the IEA, says that ‘the energy choices that India makes will be critical for Indian citizens as well as the future of the planet.’