The next test for renewable energy, Pg7

Key Highlights:

• India hosted the Bharat Renewable Energy Summit, highlighting its progress in achieving near-universal electricity access and building the world's third-largest renewable energy capacity.
• COP31, hosted by Türkiye with Australia as president, proposed a "35 by 35" global electrification target.
• Global renewable energy capacity reached 5,149 GW in 2025, with 692 GW added last year, predominantly from solar and wind.
• India's installed battery storage capacity reached approximately 9 GWh by mid-2026.
• India approved about $19 billion for state transmission and 50 GWh of battery storage to evacuate up to 135 GW of renewable energy by 2032-33.
• India's solar module manufacturing capacity is 262 GW, and solar cell capacity is 37 GW.
• India has deployed approximately 54 million smart meters to enhance grid management.
• India's non-fossil capacity currently stands at about 308 GW.

Detailed Insights:

• The global goal of tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030 faces significant challenges.
• Renewable energy deployment is uneven, with China contributing nearly two-thirds of last year's additions, while Africa accounted for only 1.6%.
• Approximately 560 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa still lack access to electricity.
• Key challenges include outdated grids, concentrated intellectual property and supply chains in cleantech, and surging AI-driven power demand.
• The new mantra for energy transition emphasizes making renewables reliable, secure, and digital.
• Reliability requires shifting from 25-year contracts to real-time trading and technology-agnostic auctions for flexibility and dispatchability.
• The International Renewable Energy Agency estimates global grid investment needs to double to $1 trillion annually.
• Energy security concerns arise from China's dominance (70%) in cleantech manufacturing, as noted by the International Energy Agency.
• India's National Critical Minerals Mission and Green Hydrogen Mission aim to bolster domestic manufacturing and secure supply chains.
• Digitalization involves smart meters acting as a grid's nervous system, enabling grid-edge technologies and AI for optimization.
• AI-driven data center electricity use is projected to nearly double by 2030, increasing global demand from 1.5% to 3%.
• Future data centers should be sited considering heat and water stress, and disclose their resource intensity.

Key Concepts Involved:

• 35 by 35 target: A global electrification goal to increase electricity's share in final energy consumption to 35% by 2035.
• Technology-agnostic auctions: Competitive bidding processes for energy capacity where various technologies can compete on equal terms.
• National Critical Minerals Mission: An Indian initiative focused on securing and processing critical minerals vital for advanced technologies and clean energy.
• Green Hydrogen Mission: An Indian government program aimed at promoting the production and utilization of green hydrogen as a sustainable energy source.