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. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. 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).
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. Shrimali, Gireesh, 2020. "Making India's power system clean: Retirement of expensive coal plants," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    10. Yang, Chi-Jen, 2010. "Reconsidering solar grid parity," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 3270-3273, July.
    11. 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.
    12. Roy, Brototi & Schaffartzik, Anke, 2021. "Talk renewables, walk coal: The paradox of India's energy transition," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    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. 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 20106, Faculty of Economics, 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. 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).
    5. Thapar, Sapan, 2022. "Centralized vs decentralized solar: A comparison study (India)," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 687-704.
    6. 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).
    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. 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.
    9. Merve Anaç & Gulden Gumusburun Ayalp & Kamil Erdayandi, 2023. "Prefabricated Construction Risks: A Holistic Exploration through Advanced Bibliometric Tool and Content Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-31, August.
    10. Heo, SungKu & Byun, Jaewon & Ifaei, Pouya & Ko, Jaerak & Ha, Byeongmin & Hwangbo, Soonho & Yoo, ChangKyoo, 2024. "Towards mega-scale decarbonized industrial park (Mega-DIP): Generative AI-driven techno-economic and environmental assessment of renewable and sustainable energy utilization in petrochemical industry," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PA).
    11. Quan-Hoang Vuong & Huyen Thanh T. Nguyen & Thanh-Hang Pham & Manh-Toan Ho & Minh-Hoang Nguyen, 2021. "Assessing the ideological homogeneity in entrepreneurial finance research by highly cited publications," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-11, December.
    12. Shuangqing Sheng & Wei Song & Hua Lian & Lei Ning, 2022. "Review of Urban Land Management Based on Bibliometrics," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-25, November.
    13. Maksym Obrizan, 2018. "Economists in Ukraine: who are they and where do they publish?," Working Papers 3181, Research Consulting and Development.
    14. Hongxia Jin & Lu Lu & Haojun Fan, 2022. "Global Trends and Research Hotspots in Long COVID: A Bibliometric Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-14, March.
    15. Zoltán Lakner & Brigitta Plasek & Gyula Kasza & Anna Kiss & Sándor Soós & Ágoston Temesi, 2021. "Towards Understanding the Food Consumer Behavior–Food Safety–Sustainability Triangle: A Bibliometric Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-23, November.
    16. Ying Liang & Wei Song, 2022. "Ecological and Environmental Effects of Land Use and Cover Changes on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau: A Bibliometric Review," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-23, November.
    17. Lanzalonga Federico & Chmet Federico & Petrolo Basilio & Brescia Valerio, 2023. "Exploring Diversity Management to Avoid Social Washing and Pinkwashing: Using Bibliometric Analysis to Shape Future Research Directions," Journal of Intercultural Management, Sciendo, vol. 15(1), pages 41-65, March.
    18. Jussi T. S. Heikkila, 2020. "Classifying economics for the common good: Connecting sustainable development goals to JEL codes," Papers 2004.04384, arXiv.org.
    19. Rabindra Nepal & Han Phoumin & Abiral Khatri, 2021. "Green Technological Development and Deployment in the Association of Southeast Asian Economies (ASEAN)—At Crossroads or Roundabout?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-19, January.
    20. Wirapong Chansanam & Chunqiu Li, 2022. "Scientometrics of Poverty Research for Sustainability Development: Trend Analysis of the 1964–2022 Data through Scopus," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-19, April.

    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.