Amarnath invites industry to participate in 5GW hybrid park
There is a huge potential for Renewable Energy development in the Karnataka State, especially solar and wind sources, robust grid mechanism and conducive policy framework, according to Animesh Sharma, Head of Business Development – India C&I, Hero Future Energies.
Presenting the Renewable Energy Solutions for Industrial Consumers, he highlighted the encouraging policies of Karnataka in terms of single window clearance, 60-days approval timeline, adoption of open access rules, among others.
Karnataka Renewable Energy Policy 2022-2027 stands as a beacon of the state’s commitment to a greener future targeting to strengthen power sub-stations for evacuation, develop RE ecosystem and augment distribution networks, elaborated Aparna Pavate, Additional Secretary, Energy Department, Government of Karnataka.
“Karnataka is taking pioneering steps to revolutionize the energy landscape,” she told delegates at the ‘Closed-Door Interaction on Renewable Energy Adoption by Industrial Consumers”. It was jointly organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Hero Futures Energies in the last week of October 2023.
Pavate also highlighted on the state initiative of developing hybrid parks which will produce a total of 5,000 MW of green energy.
India has made commendable progress in renewable energy landscape, with more than 42% current capacity built from of non-fossil energy sources, she said.
The key objective of the interaction was to showcase renewable energy solutions and technologies available for Indian industrial consumers, supporting their transition towards decarbonization and the net-zero journey.
Karnataka is the pioneering state in development of renewable energy with the policy initiative starting way back in 2009, said Amarnath N, Chief Executive Officer, Karnataka Solar Power Development Corporation Ltd.
Appx 62% of the current power consumption in the state is from renewable sources, he added.
Amarnath further invited industry to be a part of a proposed 5GW hybrid park, comprising of wind and solar resources.
While cement (and sectors like steel) are hard-to-abate sectors, but these are the key industrial sectors to drive the renewable energy adoption in the nation, according to Harmit Singh Sethi, Co-Chair, FICCI Cement Committee.
“With government’s increased focus on infrastructure development and urbanization to increase from 33% to 40% by 2030, there is going to be increased demand for cement and hence an increased chance of GHG emissions,” said Sethi who is also Executive Director & Group Head, Corporate Affairs & Incubation, Dalmia Bharat Group.
“Therefore, transition towards renewables is of critical importance moving forward in the midst of net zero targets,” added Sethi who spoke at the closed-door session as representative of the industry.
The interaction highlighted that the role of renewable energy in industries is multifaceted and can have significant impacts on industry’s vision for sustainability, decarbonization, cost competitiveness and environmental goals.
As the industrial sector consume significant amount of electricity produced in the country, it can play an essential part in enabling the structural shift to clean energy, FICCI said in a release on 1 Nov 2023.
The discussions acknowledged that many corporates and industries have already committed to adopt green energy and are looking for solutions best suited to their operations, it said. fiinews.com
