Context

The Prime Minister has called for “Energy Atmanirbharta” by 2040

10 suggestions to achieve the objective of Energy Atma Nirbharta

1. To have definitional clarity

• Atmanirbharta translates literally to self-reliance but many interpret it to mean self-sufficiency. 
• In the Energy field self-sufficiency is infeasible and uneconomic. 
• A better statement of intent would be “strategic autonomy”.

1. Prioritise access to fossil fuels

• The transition to a green energy system will take a longer duration
• Our policy must continue to emphasise on affordable and secure access to oil and gas.
• Intensifying domestic exploration and carrying out production in commercially viable terms
• Involving private players in this high-risk, capital-intensive activity given the poor record of PSUs

1. Prioritise access to the building blocks of green energy

• The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has forecast that wind and solar energy will make up around 51 per cent of the installed power generation capacity of 830 GW by 2030.
• The sine qua non for realising this forecast will be cost-competitive access to minerals/components such as copper, cobalt, lithium, semiconductor chips etc required to build EVs, solar panels, wind turbines and batteries.

• A study by S&P Global has noted, for instance, 

• 38 percent of copper is produced from Chile and Peru
• China controls 47 percent of copper smelting and 42 percent of copper refining.

• The problem is these commodities are concentrated in countries that are not on the same political page with India. 

• For example Chile and Peru have left-wing governments unreceptive to private sector mining

• The paper on  “Critical Minerals for India: Assessing their criticality and projecting their need for green technologies,” notes that 

• India has some resources such as cobalt, nickel and heavy rare earth metals but it has done little to expedite their mining and processing. 
• It calls for India to remove the obstacles to domestic mining and develop strategies to manage the dynamics of market concentration, global competition and unfavourable geopolitics.

1. Infrastructure development. 

• Weaponization of energy sources

• The European economic powerhouse, Germany, has been left most exposed by the sudden lack of Russian gas after the closure of Nord Stream 1, which runs from Vyborg, north-west of St Petersburg, under the sea to Germany’s Baltic coast.

• India cannot afford such vulnerability. 

• GAIL is investing in the development of a national gas pipeline grid
• Need to expand our strategic petroleum reserves to cover at least 30 days of consumption 
• Upgrade the transmission grid and battery storage systems to scale up renewables and smoothen its supplies
• Develop innovative financing mechanisms to fund green infrastructure
• It should be noted that all such investments will be fruitful only if state discoms are financially insolvent

1. Green incentives

• The government’s production-linked incentive scheme (PLI ) offers benefits for investment in green energy. The investor response has so far been encouraging. 
• Other governments are also going down a similar route and are also looking to attract private capital to help them meet their net carbon zero targets. 

               For example: The US CHIPS and Science Act has offered, for instance, tax credits and

               subsidies that are a multiple of that offered under PLI. 

• We may have to go back to the drawing board to retain the interest of potential investors.

1. Demand conservation and efficiency. 

• Energy usage norms must be standardised and tightened. Legislation should be contemplated to ensure compliance.

1. Retraining and upskilling. 

• The nature of jobs and their location will change with the progressive transition to a green energy system. 
• The consequential requirements for training/skilling should be anticipated and delivered.

1. Energy diplomacy. 

• Because of our dependence on the international energy supply chains, Our diplomats should add the arrows of energy diplomacy to their quiver. 
• Success in navigating the cross-currents of economic and geopolitical uncertainties will rest greatly on skilful diplomacy.

1. Holistic governance. 

• The current siloed structures of energy governance are suboptimal. 
• Institutions should be created to facilitate integrated energy planning and implementation.

1. Political statesmanship.

•  The phrase “the tragedy of horizons’’ is often used to highlight the different time horizons of politics, economics and society with regards to the energy transition. 
• We need leadership that can reconcile temporal differences and balance the short-term pressures of elections with the longer-term imperatives of sustainability.

 

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/the-road-to-energy-atmanirbharta-8131158/