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Critical Topics and Their Significance for the UPSC CSE Examination on August 07, 2024

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Production of Energy From Renewable Energy Sources

For Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

For Mains Examination: GS III - Environment & Ecology

Context:

The Government has undertaken several measures and initiatives to promote the development of renewable energy (RE), including solar and wind power, as given at Annexure that directly/indirectly incentivize industries to increase the use of RE against the consumption of energy from conventional coal-thermal based power.

Read about:

What is Renewable energy?

Significance of renewable energy

Key takeaways:

The Government of India has implemented numerous measures to enhance and speed up the country's renewable energy capacity, aiming for 500 GW of installed capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030. These measures include:

• Issuing annual renewable energy power bid trajectories of 50 GW by Renewable Energy Implementation Agencies (REIAs) such as Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI), National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) from FY 2023-24 to FY 2027-28.
• Allowing up to 100 percent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through the automatic route.
• Waiving Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) charges for inter-state sales of solar and wind power for projects commissioned by June 30, 2025, for Green Hydrogen Projects until December 2030, and for offshore wind projects until December 2032.
• Establishing a Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) trajectory until 2029-30, including a separate RPO for Decentralized Renewable Energy to boost RE consumption.
• Setting up a Project Development Cell to attract and facilitate investments.
• Issuing Standard Bidding Guidelines for a tariff-based competitive bidding process for procuring power from grid-connected solar, wind, and wind-solar projects.
• Launching schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM), PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, the National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV Modules, the National Green Hydrogen Mission, and the development of 1 GW Offshore Wind Energy Projects.
• Establishing Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Parks to provide land and transmission for large-scale RE project installations.
• Laying new transmission lines and creating new sub-station capacities under the Green Energy Corridor Scheme for renewable power evacuation.
• Issuing the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020 for net-metering up to 500 Kilowatts or the electrical sanctioned load, whichever is lower.
• Approving the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme for offshore wind energy projects to install and commission 1 GW of offshore wind energy projects (500 MW each off the coast of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu)

 Read also: 

What is Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)?

What is Photovoltaic cell?