Prime Minister has called for “Energy Atmanirbhar Bharat” by 2040. A road map will be required to accomplish the desired goal.
Appropriate definitions for self-reliance:
This implies that means of achieving self-sufficiency but energy self-sufficiency alone are impractical and unprofitable. It will be more useful if we understand the idea of Atmanirbharta in the context of “Strategic Autonomy”.
Energy data
India has an installed power capacity of 403,760 MW, an increase of nearly 300 times and the population has more than quadrupled. At 1208 kWh per capita consumption, India is one of the largest producers and consumers of energy. Despite its reliance on energy imports, the nation has created a total non-fossil fuel capacity of about 41.5 per cent, which is 1,67,694 MW. Is equal to.
How can we achieve the goal of ‘strategic autonomy’ in energy?
(1) Prioritize access to fossil fuels: Our policy should continue to emphasize affordable and safe access to oil and gas. This can be achieved by intensifying domestic exploration.
(2) Reducing high exploration and development costs: We must accept that our geology is complex and also the fact that even if we have been successful in discoveries, it is difficult to produce them on commercially viable terms could. This is due to high exploration and development costs.
(3) Prioritizing access to green energy: The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has estimated that wind and solar power will make up about 51 percent of the installed power generation capacity of 830 GW by 2030. This would require access to the minerals/components (copper, cobalt, lithium, semiconductor chips, etc.) needed to make EVs, solar panels, wind turbines and batteries. The problem is that these items are concentrated in countries that are not on the same political page as India.
Although 38 percent of copper is produced in Chile and Peru. Left governments in these countries are insensitive to private sector mining. In addition, China controls 47 percent of copper smelting and 42 percent of copper refining. Self-reliance in energy by 2040 is about shaping our energy security and positioning India in a position of strategic autonomy. For this we need to overcome the time horizon of politics, economics and society.
