India's climate goals for 2030 and 2070 will need a significant ramping up of renewable power and GE wants to play a central role in it
Mahesh Palashikar, President, GE South Asia
Image: Amit Verma
India’s goal of getting 50 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030, and commitment to becoming a carbon neutral nation by 2070 is exemplary, but it will require significant acceleration of efforts on multiple fronts, says Mahesh Palashikar, president of GE South Asia.
The stepping up of these efforts is also critical because India’s reliance on the hugely polluting coal-fired power plants for a significant share of its power will remain, by 2030 and beyond.
The government’s policies in recent years, which have helped to increase solar and wind power installations, is evidence of the intent. And the world of finance views India’s efforts and commitments in positive light, and this will be crucial because the transition to carbon neutrality will require investments of billions of dollars, he says.
“We have to accelerate these efforts, because time will fly,” he says. For example, “the auctions have happened, the bids have happened, but that’s not translating into much generation on the ground,” he says.
One of the ways India is promoting renewable energy is through auctions such as the ‘round-the-clock’ renewable power auctions, the first of which took place in May 2020.
(This story appears in the 03 June, 2022 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)