Powering Progress: Integration of Renewable Energy into Indian Manufacturing

India’s manufacturing sector is embracing renewable energy to meet rising demands and climate goals. This shift ensures sustainability and boosts global competitiveness.

- Anushka Vani Editor (Print & Web)

The Indian manufacturing sector is at a crossroads. With the nation's vision to become a manufacturing powerhouse of the world under schemes like 'Make in India’ and 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, the energy needs of the sector are bound to grow exponentially. Concurrently, the imperative to decarbonise industrial processes has become imperative, both to fulfil India’s climate obligations and ensure competitiveness in a sustainability-focused global economy. Here, the incorporation of Renewable Energy (RE) into production processes is becoming a strategic necessity. Continues from previous page...

The Energy-Intensive Nature of Indian Manufacturing

Manufacturing accounts for approximately 17% of India's GDP and is among the biggest energy consumers. Sectors like cement, steel, textiles, and chemicals are dependent to a large extent on fossil fuels, particularly coal and natural gas, for electricity as well as for thermal energy. Not only does this accentuate operational expenses in the face of fluctuating fuel prices, but also leads to heavy greenhouse gas emissions. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that India's industrial sector has consumed more than 40% of aggregate final energy consumption in 2022, with a very high carbon footprint. To counter this, the manufacturers are increasingly shifting to the use of clean energy sources, aligning with India's overall objective of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030 and reaching net zero emissions by 2070.

Renewable Energy Integration: A Paradigm Shift

The integration of renewable energy into manufacturing goes beyond green power purchasing, it's a comprehensive overhaul in energy purchase, utilisation, and management. It involves installed solar on-premises equipment, wind generation procurement through PPAs, incorporation of green hydrogen, and usage of energy storage facilities for stabilisation of the grid.