The Central Electricity Authority’s (CEA) plan to raise the share of non-fossil fuels in India’s installed power capacity to nearly 70% in a decade, from 42% now, is high on intent, but seems at a tangent to the changing nature of the global energy market. There is no mistaking New Delhi’s commitment to walk the talk on emission reduction. But it ought to be no less an objective for it to meet the fast-rising energy requirements of a high-growth economy at affordable costs. After all, many major economies, including the advanced ones, have increased the use of coal for energy after the Russia-Ukraine war broke out. That’s because prices of natural gas, which emits less than half as much when burnt to produce a unit of electricity, skyrocketed. Global gas markets are expected to remain tight in the short to medium term, if not longer.
To be sure, the CEA has tacitly acknowledged in its National Electricity Plan (NEP) 2022-2032, that gas-based power is far beyond India’s purchase capacity.
