Integrating renewable energy

An enabling technology framework is essential

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One of the challenges confronting India's efforts to expand renewable energy (RE) is the suboptimal absorption of RE power in the national grid. Although RE—principally solar, wind, and hydroelectric—stands at over 40 per cent of installed generation capacity, coal-based fossil fuels continue to account for 78 per cent of generation. This gap reflects the difficulties the national grid faces in absorbing RE power. As a recent report in this paper pointed out, the principal challenge in grid management lies in handling "too much RE power". Addressing this unique problem of smoothly integrating RE within grid systems in a sustained manner is vital if India is to achieve its target of 500 Gw from renewable sources by 2030.