IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/engenv/v33y2022i1p3-40.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A review of challenges from increasing renewable generation in the Indian Power Sector: Way forward for Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020

Author

Listed:
  • Ramit Debnath
  • Vibhor Mittal
  • Abhinav Jindal

Abstract

About 70% of India’s current energy mix comprises of coal, and the increase in generation from renewable (RE) sources is affecting the health of the power system. We investigated this effect through the lens of asset utilisation, cost and the social disruption caused by accelerating RE into the Indian Power System. Our review-driven analysis revealed that increasing RE generation is pushing the coal plants to operate in low-loading conditions, causing heightened wear and tear of the plant as they are not suitable for flexible operation. The novel analysis of social disruption due to market parity between RE and coal-based generation presented a holistic view of the political economy of Indian Power System. We found that transition from coal to RE may have extended socio-political ramifications that can potentially disrupt the national economy at an unprecedented scale. Policy implications outlined by our study for the draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020 include scoping a socio-technical framework which supports just energy transition through better financial support mechanisms for flexible operation of coal plants. Focusing on clean-up over shut-down of coal plants and facilitating investments in battery storage technologies and cross-border electricity trade as RE and conventional fuel reach market parity.

Suggested Citation

  • Ramit Debnath & Vibhor Mittal & Abhinav Jindal, 2022. "A review of challenges from increasing renewable generation in the Indian Power Sector: Way forward for Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020," Energy & Environment, , vol. 33(1), pages 3-40, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:engenv:v:33:y:2022:i:1:p:3-40
    DOI: 10.1177/0958305X20986246
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0958305X20986246
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0958305X20986246?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Aria, Massimo & Cuccurullo, Corrado, 2017. "bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 959-975.
    2. Thapar, Sapan & Sharma, Seema & Verma, Ashu, 2016. "Economic and environmental effectiveness of renewable energy policy instruments: Best practices from India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 487-498.
    3. Debnath, R. & Mittal, V. & Jindal, A., 2020. "A review of challenges from increasing renewable generation in the Indian Power System," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 21006, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    4. Kentaka Aruga & Md. Monirul Islam & Arifa Jannat, 2020. "Effects of COVID-19 on Indian Energy Consumption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-15, July.
    5. Roy, Brototi & Schaffartzik, Anke, 2021. "Talk renewables, walk coal: The paradox of India's energy transition," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    6. Ramit Debnath & Ronita Bardhan, 2020. "India nudges to contain COVID-19 pandemic: A reactive public policy analysis using machine-learning based topic modelling," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(9), pages 1-25, September.
    7. Shrimali, Gireesh, 2020. "Making India's power system clean: Retirement of expensive coal plants," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    8. Singh, Anoop & Jamasb, Tooraj & Nepal, Rabindra & Toman, Michael, 2018. "Electricity cooperation in South Asia: Barriers to cross-border trade," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 741-748.
    9. Yang, Chi-Jen, 2010. "Reconsidering solar grid parity," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 3270-3273, July.
    10. Kumar, Pankaj & Banerjee, Rangan & Mishra, Trupti, 2020. "A framework for analyzing trade-offs in cost and emissions in power sector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    11. Tripathi, Lata & Mishra, A.K. & Dubey, Anil Kumar & Tripathi, C.B. & Baredar, Prashant, 2016. "Renewable energy: An overview on its contribution in current energy scenario of India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 226-233.
    12. Ramit Debnath & Vibhor Mittal & Abhinav Jindal, 2020. "A review of challenges from increasing renewable generation in the Indian Power System," Working Papers EPRG2031, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ramit Debnath & Vibhor Mittal & Abhinav Jindal, 2020. "A review of challenges from increasing renewable generation in the Indian Power System," Working Papers EPRG2031, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    2. Debnath, R. & Mittal, V. & Jindal, A., 2020. "A review of challenges from increasing renewable generation in the Indian Power System," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 21006, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    3. Debnath, Ramit & Bardhan, Ronita & Reiner, David M. & Miller, J.R., 2021. "Political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental dimensions of electric vehicle adoption in the United States: A social-media interaction analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    4. Debnath, Ramit & Bardhan, Ronita & Misra, Ashwin & Hong, Tianzhen & Rozite, Vida & Ramage, Michael H., 2022. "Lockdown impacts on residential electricity demand in India: A data-driven and non-intrusive load monitoring study using Gaussian mixture models," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    5. Jindal, Abhinav & Shrimali, Gireesh, 2022. "Cost–benefit analysis of coal plant repurposing in developing countries: A case study of India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    6. Thapar, Sapan, 2022. "Centralized vs decentralized solar: A comparison study (India)," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 687-704.
    7. Singh, Mukesh Kumar & Malek, Javed & Sharma, Harish Kumar & Kumar, Rahul, 2024. "Converting the threats of fossil fuel-based energy generation into opportunities for renewable energy development in India," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    8. Hasan, Mudassar & Arif, Muhammad & Naeem, Muhammad Abubakr & Ngo, Quang-Thanh & Taghizadeh–Hesary, Farhad, 2021. "Time-frequency connectedness between Asian electricity sectors," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 208-224.
    9. Tripathy, Prajukta & Jena, Pabitra Kumar & Mishra, Bikash Ranjan, 2024. "Systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis of energy efficiency," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    10. Gessler, Michael & Bohlinger, Sandra & Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia, Olga, 2021. "International vocational education and training research: An introduction to the special issue," International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training (IJRVET), European Research Network in Vocational Education and Training (VETNET), European Educational Research Association, vol. 8(4), pages 1-15.
    11. Zeng, Ying & Liu, Xinyi & Zhang, Xinyuan & Li, Zhiyong, 2024. "Retrospective of interdisciplinary research on robot services (1954–2023): From parasitism to symbiosis," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    12. Kyriakopoulos, Grigorios L. & Arabatzis, Garyfallos & Tsialis, Panagiotis & Ioannou, Konstantinos, 2018. "Electricity consumption and RES plants in Greece: Typologies of regional units," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 134-144.
    13. Maria Lourdes Ordoñez Olivo & Zoltán Lakner, 2023. "Shaping the Knowledge Base of Bioeconomy Sectors Development in Latin American and Caribbean Countries: A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-18, March.
    14. Lucy Semerjian & Kunle Okaiyeto & Mike O. Ojemaye & Temitope Cyrus Ekundayo & Aboi Igwaran & Anthony I. Okoh, 2021. "Global Systematic Mapping of Road Dust Research from 1906 to 2020: Research Gaps and Future Direction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-21, October.
    15. Johnson Ankrah & Ana Monteiro & Helena Madureira, 2022. "Bibliometric Analysis of Data Sources and Tools for Shoreline Change Analysis and Detection," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-23, April.
    16. Juan F. Prados-Castillo & Miguel Ángel Solano-Sánchez & Pilar Guaita Fernández & José Manuel Guaita Martínez, 2023. "Potential of the Crypto Economy in Financial Management and Fundraising for Tourism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-15, March.
    17. Davidescu Adriana AnaMaria & Agafiței Marina-Diana & Strat Vasile Alecsandru & Dima Alina Mihaela, 2024. "Mapping the Landscape: A Bibliometric Analysis of Rating Agencies in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning," Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 18(1), pages 67-85.
    18. Vuong, Quan-Hoang & Huyen, Nguyen Thanh Thanh & Pham, Thanh-Hang & Phuong, Luong Anh & Nguyen, Minh-Hoang, 2020. "Mapping the intellectual and conceptual structure of research on gender issues in the family business: A bibliometric review," OSF Preprints jgnrw, Center for Open Science.
    19. Tong Chen & Mo Wang & Jin Su & Jianjun Li, 2023. "Unlocking the Positive Impact of Bio-Swales on Hydrology, Water Quality, and Biodiversity: A Bibliometric Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-19, May.
    20. Cristina Barbu & Corina Sbughea, 2024. "Artificial Intelligence in Education: Global Trends, Clusters, and Perspectives," Economics and Applied Informatics, "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galati, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 3, pages 265-274.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:engenv:v:33:y:2022:i:1:p:3-40. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.