Renewable Energy for Sustainable Growth

The consumption of electricity in India is much more than its production and its need has been increasing even more rapidly due to the rising population and industrial growth. India’s energy sector is struggling to meet the massive electricity demand. 

Unreliable supply and energy shortage is impeding India’s economic development. Even a power grid failure of lesser magnitude causes millions of people to stay without electricity for hours. Sometimes these power breaks last for days or even weeks, which lead to the complete shutdown of production in many companies, and other essential infrastructures like hospitals, banks, etc. Every small as well as large power blackouts can have devastating effects on companies which are not prepared for this. There is the need to develop sustainable energy solutions to eliminate wide-ranging power failures in the future that will ultimately help in economic development.  

Indian government should focus on the proper development of renewable energy like solar, wind, biomass and hydro energy to generate electricity. It is the best investment for both long-term economic growth and making a pollution-free environment. Moreover, a constructive energy policy could provide employment to millions of people and in the decentralization of energy distribution, which eventually would help in reducing the load on the grid. This will be a more cost-effective solution to provide affordable energy for everyone. 

India should take maximum advantage of solar energy- the prime source of free and unlimited energy. According to a report, with more than 300 days of sunshine, India has the total capacity of producing electricity from the sun is about 5,000 TWh of solar insolation every year. Even if a tenth part of this energy was utilized, it could mark the end of the India’s present power transmission and distribution issues. In addition, India can ramp up its attempts to develop and implement huge commercial wind and solar farms to meet the nation’s energy requirements and economic development goals.

The present power production capacity of India is about 200,000 MW and it would increase in future if right energy policies are formulated. There is a dire need to develop and execute favourable government policies to improve the exponential growth of renewable energy. Giving renewable energy a boost is not just a choice, but a necessity. 

Currently, India is heavily dependent on fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas to produce electricity, which are not only expensive, but also pollute the environment. Due to our vast population, India purchase energy from outside to meet the power demands, and that leads to increase in our electricity cost. Moreover, the coal reserves are limited in India therefore the excessive use of thermal energy may lead to the deficiency of such resources. Hence, it is vital to minimize the use of such resources or to use them judiciously, if we want to save something for future generations. And instead of purchasing power from outside, we should make the optimal utilization of natural resources, which will subsequently help us to improve our ecosystem. It will be considerably cheaper if we make a shift from nuclear power to renewable energy.