Non-conventional energy policy: Impact on adoption

Abstract

Global warming is the most important problem that is encountered by humanity as a whole. In wake of raising temperatures caused by emission of greenhouse gases, governments across the world are taking measures to reduce the dependency on non-renewable energy resource. Germany is leading from the front in terms of reducing its dependence on non-renewable energy resource and moving towards renewable energy. Of late, Indian government realizing the vast untapped potential of non-renewable energy resource formulated various policy and incentives to help grow the non-renewable energy resource. One such initiative is the formulation of National Solar mission at the central level and state solar policies at state level. In this paper, we intend to analyse the National Solar energy policy and four state policies namely Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamilnadu. In doing so, we have mapped the solar power market structure, industry value chain and process involved in developing a solar power plant. Looking from an investors point, we have the challenges faced by them and the current industry trends the current installed power capacity of India is 249.49 GW of which renewable energy sources account for 31.67 GW or 12.69% of total installed capacity. Wind energy accounts for the major chunk of the renewable sources with 21.13 GW (66.72% of renewable) and the solar energy accounts for 2.6 GW (just 1% of total and 8.2% of renewable sources. Given India’s geographic position which receives 5,000 trillion kWh per year (a fraction of which is all needed to replace all other sources of energy – coal, crude oil, natural gas, lignite), India is far from harnessing this abundant source of clean energy from sun.