90GW! The Indian state of Rajasthan has announced plans for renewable energy generation

Rajasthan, India's largest state by area, recently unveiled the draft "Rajasthan Energy Policy 2050", which aims to transition to a sustainable and eco-friendly economy.

2030 Target: 90GW of installed PV systems and wind power capacity in Rajasthan

One of the targets of the policy is for Rajasthan to install photovoltaic systems and wind power facilities with a total installed capacity of 90GW by 2030. The rapid growth in installed renewable energy capacity is expected to create employment opportunities for 110,000 people in Rajasthan, covering a wide range of skills required for business development, project design, construction, commissioning and maintenance.

The state also plans to scale up its development of rooftop photovoltaics. Rajasthan has untapped potential for the installation of residential rooftop PV systems, with only 835MW of rooftop PV systems installed as of September 2022 despite its potential of 5.5GW.

In addition, Rajasthan is committed to achieving 100% compliance with the national Renewable Energy Purchase Obligation (RPO) target and significantly reducing the level of total technical and commercial (AT&C) losses of power distribution companies to 12-15% by 2025-2026, down from a disturbing 26.23% in 2021.

Vision 2050: Increase the share of non-fossil energy generation in Rajasthan to 70%

Rajasthan's long-term goals include increasing the share of non-fossil energy generation from 20% to 70% by 2020.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan aims to reduce AT&C losses in the power distribution sector to less than 10%, a significant improvement from 26.23% in 2021.

(1) Green hydrogen

One of the most striking aspects of the policy is Rajasthan's explicit focus on the production of green hydrogen, a key resource for decarbonizing various sectors. Rajasthan currently consumes about 250,000 tonnes of hydrogen. The state government has committed to invest Rs 400 crore (about $4.8 billion) in green hydrogen production. This investment will facilitate the creation of 5GW of green hydrogen capacity, mainly generated using photovoltaic systems and advanced electrolysis technologies.

To drive this shift, the state plans to develop a comprehensive "green hydrogen policy."

(2) Roadmap for progress

The policy Outlines two broad economic goals and 14 specific sectoral targets to be achieved by 2050.

• 60% reduction in fossil energy intensity of the state economy compared to 2020 levels.

• Total carbon emissions are expected to be reduced by 700 million tonnes from 2020 to 2050.

While the energy transition in Rajasthan is promising, it also faces some challenges. The state must meet the growing demand for electricity while reducing carbon emissions, enhancing the financial health of distribution companies and promoting consumer participation.

Currently, more than 70% of the state's electricity comes from coal-fired power generation, accounting for 54% of its total emissions by 2020. If this does not change, electricity demand is expected to surge by 325 per cent by 2050 and carbon emissions from the state's power sector are expected to grow by 88 per cent compared to 2020. To address this, Rajasthan must aggressively scale up the deployment of renewable energy beyond the current 37.5GW target by 2025, which will require significant efforts to integrate the generation of power from variable renewables into the grid.

In addition, an environment for increased biofuel production will be created by promoting industry cooperation in the adoption of advanced biofuel technologies and workforce development.

Transitioning to a cleaner energy future

This policy aims to rapidly reduce energy emissions from the industrial sector by increasing electricity consumption on the grid, improving energy efficiency and establishing green hydrogen centers.

By 2030, the policy aims to increase the electricity consumption of the industrial grid to 40 percent from 32 percent in 2020. It is also seeking to meet global energy efficiency standards in sectors such as cement and textiles to make Rajasthan India's green hydrogen production hub.

The transport sector, which accounts for a large portion of Rajasthan's carbon emissions and energy needs, is also in the spotlight. By 2030, the policy aims to achieve a modal share of non-motorized and public transport of more than 40%, as well as a significant uptake of electric vehicles. By 2050, the state is targeting 80 per cent market penetration for electric vehicles, with widespread electrification of buses and taxis.

By 2030, the policy aims to meet 45% of Rajasthan's agricultural electricity needs with renewable energy, including both on-grid and off-grid renewable power generation facilities, and increase the efficiency of farmland irrigation to 40%.

By 2050, the state aims to generate 75% of its agricultural electricity needs from renewable sources, while committing to increase farm irrigation efficiency to 70%.

According to the "Second Quarter of 2023 Indian Photovoltaic Market Update" report released by Mercom India Research Company, Rajasthan has the highest cumulative installed capacity of large-scale photovoltaic in the Indian states, and its installed capacity reached more than 16GW by the end of the second quarter of 2023. It accounts for about 29% of the cumulative installed capacity of utility-scale PV systems in India.

The Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Board recently issued the state's new renewable energy purchase obligation, which includes energy storage systems, mobile photovoltaic systems, and biomass facilities in another RPO category.