{"id":66754,"date":"2026-02-14T18:42:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T13:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=66754"},"modified":"2026-02-16T12:01:36","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T06:31:36","slug":"india-power-mix-2070","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/14-02-2026\/india-power-mix-2070","title":{"rendered":"Renewables to Lead India\u2019s Power Mix by 2070"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Energy and Infrastructure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A study titled \u201cScenarios Towards Viksit Bharat and Net Zero\u201d by NITI Aayog projects a shift in India\u2019s electricity mix from coal dominance to renewable leadership by 2070.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Present Electricity Landscape of India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Coal remains the backbone<\/strong> of India\u2019s power system, accounting for nearly <strong>74%<\/strong> of electricity generation, ensuring dependable and low-cost base-load supply.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As per IRENA RE Statistics 2025, globally,<strong> India stands 3rd in Solar Power <\/strong>installed capacity, <strong>4th in Wind Power <\/strong>capacity and <strong>4th in total Renewable Energy<\/strong> capacity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s total installed capacity stands at <strong>513 GW<\/strong>, of which <strong>48% is fossil-based<\/strong>, <strong>50% is from renewable energy<\/strong> sources and <strong>1.7% is from nuclear energy.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>However, renewable energy\u2019s share in actual generation increased only from 19.6% (2013-14) to<strong> 22% (2024-25)<\/strong>, reflecting utilisation challenges.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Projections Under Current Policy Scenario (CPS):<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Renewable energy\u2019s share in electricity generation could rise from ~20% in 2024-25 to over <strong>80% by 2070.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Coal\u2019s share<\/strong> could <strong>decline sharply to 6\u201310%<\/strong> by 2070.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Constraints in Renewable Energy Generation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Low Capacity Utilisation Factor (CUF):<\/strong> Clean energy sources are intermittent and weather-dependent. Hence, their actual output is much lower despite high capacity.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Eg:<\/strong> Solar CUF: ~20%, Wind CUF: ~25\u201330%, Coal CUF: ~60%, Nuclear CUF: ~80%.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Base Load Dependency on Coal: <\/strong>Coal continues to supply over 75% of India&#8217;s electricity demand, especially at night when solar isn&#8217;t available.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s grid still depends heavily on thermal sources for round-the-clock (RTC) power.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Storage and Transmission Limitations:<\/strong> Lack of grid-scale battery storage prevents storing surplus daytime solar energy.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Transmission planning is not in sync with the pace of RE (renewable energy) installation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Time-Insensitive Tariff Structures:<\/strong> India currently lacks time-of-day (ToD) pricing, discouraging daytime solar consumption.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Uniform tariffs provide no incentive for consumers or discoms to shift loads to peak solar hours.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Land and Regulatory Constraints: <\/strong>Land aggregation issues for large-scale solar or hybrid projects.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Delays in regulatory clearances, especially for hybrid renewable systems and storage infrastructure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government Initiatives to Improve Clean Energy Utilisation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Green Energy Corridor (GEC): <\/strong>Aims to strengthen the transmission infrastructure to evacuate renewable energy efficiently from generation points to demand centres.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>PM-KUSUM Scheme: <\/strong>Promotes installation of solar pumps and grid-connected solar power plants in rural areas to reduce diesel usage and support farmers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Green Hydrogen Mission:<\/strong> Seeks to promote the production and use of green hydrogen to reduce reliance on fossil fuels in sectors like refining, steel, and fertilisers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme: <\/strong>Provides financial incentives for domestic manufacturing of high-efficiency solar photovoltaic (PV) modules and advanced battery storage systems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Renewable Energy Hybrid Policy:<\/strong> Encourages setting up of projects that combine solar and wind energy in the same location to increase capacity utilisation and reliability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Grid Modernisation and Smart Management:<\/strong> Invest in smart grids with real-time demand-supply balancing.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Enable time-of-day pricing, especially to promote daytime solar usage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Battery and Storage Infrastructure:<\/strong> Accelerate deployment of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) through VGF (Viability Gap Funding) or PLI.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hybrid Projects (solar-wind-hydro with BESS) should be fast-tracked.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Decentralised Renewable Energy: <\/strong>Promote rooftop solar, solar pumps, and mini-grids to relieve base-load pressure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Revamp Tariff and Market Design:<\/strong> Introduce differential tariffs for peak vs off-peak periods.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Set up green power markets on energy exchanges with open access for industries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Nuclear Power as a Strategic Pillar: <\/strong>Nuclear capacity should be scaled in a phased and financially sustainable manner to provide firm, low-carbon base-load power.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Advanced reactors and <strong>Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) <\/strong>must be prioritised to ensure flexible deployment and enhanced safety.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-economics\/renewables-to-dominate-indias-grid-by-2070-but-structural-challenges-are-slowing-the-pace-105\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> A study titled \u201cScenarios Towards Viksit Bharat and Net Zero\u201d by NITI Aayog projects a shift in India\u2019s electricity mix from coal dominance to renewable leadership by 2070. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Present Electricity Landscape of India <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Coal remains the backbone of India\u2019s power system, accounting for nearly 74% of electricity generation, ensuring dependable and low-cost base-load supply. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> As per IRENA RE Statistics 2025, globally, India stands 3rd in Solar Power installed capacity, 4th in Wind Power capacity and 4th in total Renewable Energy capacity. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> India\u2019s total installed capacity stands at 513 GW, of which 48% is fossil-based, 50% is from renewable energy sources and 1.7% is from nuclear energy. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/14-02-2026\/india-power-mix-2070 \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66754"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66756,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66754\/revisions\/66756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}