Centre reaffirms commitment to reduce emissions intensity of GDP by 45% from 2005 levels

A high-level consultative committee meeting was held by the Ministry of Power on Tuesday to deliberate on India’s energy storage roadmap and future energy security.

At the meeting, the Minister of Power reaffirmed India’s commitment to reducing the emissions intensity of its GDP by 45% from 2005 levels and achieving 50% of cumulative installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.

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He stressed that renewable energy (RE) must be complemented with robust energy storage systems to ensure reliable power supply by storing surplus RE for use during peak demand hours.

Highlighting policy initiatives to promote Energy Storage Systems (ESS), the Minister said the focus is on ensuring resource adequacy and securing sufficient power generation capacity. Under one of the largest Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) programs in the world, 43 GWh of BESS projects are being supported through the Ministry of Power’s Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme, with financial assistance of ₹9,160 crore.

To further incentivize adoption, Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) charges have been fully waived for BESS projects commissioned by June 2028, as well as for Pumped Storage Plant (PSP) projects awarded for construction by the same date.

On PSP development, the Minister noted that India currently has an installed capacity of approximately 6.4 GW, against an estimated potential of over 200 GW. Around 8 GW of capacity is under construction, while another 61 GW is at various stages of planning and development.

Further, the Secretary (Power) urged for collective deliberation on specific challenges being faced in the power sector and to explore potential solutions for helping in bringing down the variability of generation in RE sources, improve grid stability, enable energy/ peak shifting, and provide ancillary support services enabling larger renewable energy integration.

At the meeting, the Members of the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Power offered several valuable suggestions regarding various initiatives and schemes on BESS.

The Union Minister also instructed officials to take necessary steps to incorporate the suggestions provided by the Members of the Consultative Committee and emphasized the importance of ensuring a stable and high-quality power supply for consumers.

MoS Power also highlighted India’s remarkable achievement of reaching 50% of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources—five years ahead of the 2030 target.