Lockdowns slowed green energy push

• The lockdowns slowed renewable energy installations in the country and the pace of installation is lagging India’s 2022 target, according to a report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
• As part of its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, India has said that it would install 175 gigawatts (GW) of green energy by 2022 and 450GW by 2030.
• However, only 7 GW of such capacity was added in FY 2020/21.

Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis

• It is a U.S. non-profit corporation.
• It examines issues related to energy markets, trends, and policies.
• The Institute’s mission is to accelerate the transition to a diverse, sustainable and profitable energy economy.

Important Highlights from Report

• India was to have installed 100 GW of solar energy capacity by March 2023 — 40 GW rooftop solar and 60 GW ground-mounted utility scale.
• The country has managed to install only 43.94 GW till July 31, 2021.
• Coal stocks hit a new record high of 1,320 lakh tonnes (Mt) at the end of FY2020/21 and exceeded the monthly averages of the previous five years.
• However, an analysis of the daily coal stock position exhibited a “deterioration” as more plants reported supplies were critical.