Timmermans says EU is developing new generations of solar panels
India has set a target of manufacturing 80 GW of the most advanced solar cells and panels by 2030 for domestic market and export surplus.
Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R. K. Singh said this on 26 May 2023 during a meeting with Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice President, European Green Deal, European Union, in New Delhi.
He also informed the visitor that storage is needed in order to provide round-the-clock renewable energy and the transition to Net Zero.
Recognizing the need to add storage capacity, the Government is coming up with bids for more storage and has already come up with a bid for Production Linked Incentive for energy storage.
Singh also sought the EU cooperation to encourage other countries too to add manufacturing facilities for energy storage so that the price of storage comes down.
Speaking of the need for alternative chemistries such as sodium ion, the Minister suggested that India and the EU do joint pilots, in areas such as green steel and other frontier technologies.
India is doing a pilot for round-the-clock renewables, using hydrogen and ammonia as storage, he said.
The industry is switching to green hydrogen and that if the journey is to continue, it will have to be on the basis of free and open trade, without barriers, he observed.
Singh told the EU delegation, “We should guard against protectionism. We need to increase electrolyser manufacturing capacity if we need to increase use of green hydrogen. India is going to come up with a PLI bid on that.”
Singh called for collaboration in batteries for grid-scale storage. “India has come out with a separate Production Linked Incentive for batteries for green mobility.”
“India is going to be one of the biggest markets for green mobility, with 80% of India’s 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers and about 50% of 4-wheelers expected to be green by 2030,” said Singh.
The Executive Vice President of European Green Deal appreciated India for its leadership in Renewable energy and energy efficiency and suggested that the two sides find ways to bring the agenda of energy efficiency to the global stage, and help set global energy efficiency targets.
Timmermans also spoke of the need for global targets in introduction of renewables. “We need to look at developing industrial ecosystems which promote renewables.”
He said that the EU is developing new generations of solar panels and that green hydrogen is also taking off and Europe will become a truly global market.
Given the high costs of transporting green hydrogen, he opined that the places producing green hydrogen will attract industrial investment.
The Executive Vice President said that heat pumps is an area where lot of innovation is expected to happen, given the rising needs for cooling and heating.
He also said that there is a strong consensus in the EU on need to adopt renewable energy and on making the green transition.
The two sides discussed the role of International Solar Alliance in bringing solar energy to the millions of people in Africa without access to energy.
“We need to support them to help them get clean energy and we need to get countries to work with the International Solar Alliance to contribute to clean energy,” said Singh.
It was agreed that EU, ISA, Africa and India will need to set up a partnership to address solar issue. fiinews.com
