If India Is 4th in Renewables, Why Do We Still Depend on Coal?

If India Is 4th in Renewables, Why Do We Still Depend on Coal?

India is a major global leader when it comes to the production of renewable energy sources and is the world’s fourth-largest producer of renewable energy. This is reflected through the establishment of solar parks, wind farms, and the government’s incentives for the development and use of such sources. However, coal energy is still the backbone of the Indian power industry. The primary reason for using coal is because of the stability it provides regarding electricity generation. The requirement for electricity is not intermittent because it comes from households, industrial sectors, hospitals, transport networks, and communication technologies. The use of electricity generated through coal sources guarantees electricity at any time.

However, such usage of coal has many side effects. The production of electricity using coal is one of the biggest causes of carbon emission and climate change. The reason is that the emission of carbon has many effects on health due to air pollution. It also consumes water in electricity production. Therefore, such effects result in unsustainable usage of coal. Renewable energy sources provide a cleaner and safer alternative. The use of solar, wind, and hydro energy produces electricity without greenhouse gases. Additionally, it cuts reliance on foreign fuels. For a period of a decade, the cost of renewable energy in India has come down substantially, making clean energy a most affordable option for electricity production.

Nevertheless, despite the foregoing benefits, the share of renewable energy in the overall electricity production is low; this problem is being effectively tackled by the Indian government with the use of battery storages, pumped storage, green hydrogen, or improved transmission solutions to enable renewable energy to deliver dependable power at all hours to thereby make the use of coal-based electricity redundant. Coal is thus today the spine of the Indian power system, but the effects of the same on the environment highlight the need for a shift. Renewable energy is the future of India’s power industry cleaner, more sustainable, and also more reliable. It is not a question of displacing coal in India in one go, but of building a future where India’s power mainly comes from renewable energy sources.