India Commits $386 Billion to Renewable Energy: Is It Taking on China?

Recently, at a renewable energy investment conference, India's Minister of Renewable Energy, Pralhad Joshi, announced that India has received commitments of $386 billion from banks and financial institutions to vigorously develop renewable energy, aiming to achieve a target of 500 GW of renewable energy installations by 2030.

It is well known that China is at the forefront of the world in new energy, and now India is investing $386 billion in renewable energy development.

Is it trying to compete with China?

Will India's development of renewable energy make it a formidable rival to China in the future?

Today, let's discuss these issues.

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This past summer, India experienced extreme weather with temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius, leading to another large-scale power shortage.

To address the electricity shortage, Modi turned his attention to renewable energy and plans to increase the installed capacity of renewable energy to 500 GW by 2023.

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At the same time, Modi also promised that by 2030, renewable energy will meet at least half of India's energy demand, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1 billion tons, and achieve net-zero emissions by 2070.

Including Pralhad Joshi's mention, over the past 10 years, India's renewable energy installations have increased from 75.52 GW to 207.7 GW, a growth rate of 175%.

To be frank, India's development of renewable energy is not slow, especially in the first quarter of this year, when India's solar photovoltaic installations increased by 10 GW, nearly a 400% year-on-year increase, which is an extremely exaggerated growth rate.

Even on a global scale, India ranks third, only behind China and the United States.

Of course, even so, it is still incomparable to China.

Last year, China's solar power installation capacity was 610 GW, and hydropower was about 420 GW, with an average installation of about 50 GW per month.

If India wants to achieve its target of 500 GW of installations by 2030, it will have to produce an average of 50 GW of renewable energy annually.

However, given the current pace of India's renewable energy development, the hope of achieving the target on schedule is probably very slim.

Nevertheless, Modi is not discouraged and says, "India is the best choice of the 21st century," inviting companies from all over the world to invest in India's "green transition."

However, facing such a "graveyard of multinational companies," is India really the "best choice" of the 21st century?

In fact, in terms of hard conditions, India's choice to develop renewable energy is not a problem, and it can even be called a "masterstroke."

On the one hand, India has abundant solar energy resources, with more than 300 days of sunlight exposure per year, an average of nearly 6 hours of sunlight per day, and unique conditions.

For example, in the region of Rajasthan, the average daily solar radiation per square meter is 7.57 kWh, and the annual rainfall is only 300 millimeters.

Although it is not suitable for human agriculture, it is extremely suitable for photovoltaic power generation.

On the other hand, India has a serious electricity shortage, and there is a strong demand in this regard.

Every summer, India will have at least one "power shortage," and demand means market.

There is a lot to be done in India's new energy, which is easier to attract external investment and gain more support.

However, it is a pity that although the road has been paved, India is not walking smoothly.

In a word, "if you don't make trouble, you won't die."

A few years ago, as Sino-Indian relations cooled, India began to act frequently, restricting Chinese visas, banning hundreds of Chinese apps, and doing a lot of "good things."

One of them was that from April 2022, India imposed a 25% basic tariff on solar cells imported from China and a 40% basic tariff on photovoltaic modules.

It is obvious that this is trade protectionism, aimed at protecting domestic photovoltaic equipment manufacturers and obtaining a precious development period.

But what's the result?

India's domestic photovoltaic equipment manufacturers did not grow as a result, and the technological gap with Chinese manufacturers has become even wider.

With excellent solar energy resources, India has chosen to tie its own hands and feet.

India has set a large and long-term goal, and it is not without the intention of competing with China.

However, looking at the current situation, India is still far behind.

First, having sunlight alone is not enough; you need to have supporting photovoltaic power generation technology.

Coincidentally, China is truly "far ahead" in photovoltaic power generation, and even the four characters "far ahead" seem somewhat insufficient to describe it.

And India?

It has a deep hatred for China and has long unilaterally erected high trade barriers, lacking basic quality and technical support capabilities, and it is of course difficult to develop renewable energy.

Second, it is not enough to generate electricity; you also need corresponding supply and power transmission capabilities.

The reason is that the power system is a very complex urban comprehensive system, and there is no room for any carelessness from power generation to power transmission.

India's "power transmission system" is simply beyond description, and the power distribution network is mainly owned by state governments and private power distribution companies, without centralized and unified management.

That's not all; India has 27% of its electricity stolen by the public every year, and India's strangeness is beyond imagination.

In other words, India has a power shortage every year, and in fact, it is not just a problem of renewable energy generation, but the entire power system has problems.

To eradicate the stubborn disease, it is not only necessary to increase the power generation but also to almost completely rebuild the national power grid and re-educate the citizens, but it is obviously an impossible task.

So from this perspective, India may have the potential to develop renewable energy, but it is still quite a distance away from becoming China's "strong rival."

In conclusion: In fact, for India, although the power shortage problem is very serious, the development of renewable energy is by no means the most urgent problem: According to the United Nations report, the proportion of malnourished children in India is close to 40%.

How to solve the problem of food and clothing, and let children supplement enough nutrition, is much more important than energy and environmental protection.