Energising Sustainability: Accelerating the Transition to Renewable Energy

The inaugural panel of the BW Sustainable World Conclave underscored India's critical role as the world's third-largest emitter, emphasizing the urgent need for global sustainability. The stalwarts highlighted the delicate balance between growth and sustainability. Renewable energy emerged as a potent decarbonization force, with biomass and wind turbines leading the way. The call for individual and corporate responsibility in reducing carbon footprints resonated strongly. With innovative energy solutions and decreasing storage costs, a greener future is on the horizon. 

Ramnath Vaidyanathan, Associate Vice President, Godrej Good & Green, said that renewable energy is the biggest driver of decarbonisation. "The first step is to substitute high carbon energy with low carbon energy. Thermal energy requirements are easy to solve since India is blessed with an abundance of biomass. We are technology agnostic and we have invested heavily in wind turbines etc. We use biomass to generate electricity as well. Our job is to incorporate more green energy in our mix." he added.

KK Sharma, Whole Time Director, EHS, DCM Shriram shares that renewable energy is something which has to be looked at by every business and individual. It's the responsibility of every stakeholder to reduce carbon footprints. "In our company, most of the products are designed in such a way which ensures that no waste is getting generated in the very first place." In our sugar business, biomass is getting utilised not only for generating power captively but also at the same time additional power is sent back to the grid”, said Sharma.

Santosh Kumar Singh, Head, Adani Energy Sustainability Group, suggested that a lot of investment and innovation is required not only on the generation side but also on the transmission side. "The future looks promising with green energy cost to come down below USD 1 per kg in the next two to four years,", stated Singh.

The storage solutions are available and the storage cost has been reduced to Rs 3-4 per unit. 1000-megawatt storage projects now require only 36 months of construction, added Singh.

Akilur Rahman, CTO, Hitachi Energy said, "We have a target of achieving 50 per cent of total energy consumed coming through renewable sources. The demand and supply gap has been reducing even in the remotest areas. Collecting and delivery challenges can be solved through technology. We use HVDC (High voltage direct current) which uses power electronics which is 800,000 volts. This HVDC technology is used for long-distance power transmission."

Experts concluded that from a policy perspective, there has to be more congruence between state and central policies with consistency. Barriers should be eradicated for mass adoption. Owners, operators, and policymakers should coordinate to develop a business model which is sustainable.