AN N I VERS ARY
Future Forecast ENERGY
ENERGISING THE NATION
Fuelling sustainable growth Ever since the process of liberalisation which was initiated by the Government of India in 1991, there has been global interest in India’s energy sector. Being one of the fastest growing economies in the world, India is witnessing growing energy demand that is being fueled by an ever-increasing rate of industrialisation. Nishant Kashyap
I
ndia’s enormous potential for energy production and consumption has enhanced investment prospects in this field. The opening up of this sector to global players have created immense opportunities for investments. Today, the country has lot of promise as far as renewable energy is concerned. There is a significant potential in India for generation of power from renewable energy sources like wind turbine, hydro power, biomass and solar energy. India is the world’s fifth largest producer of wind power after Denmark, Germany, Spain, and the USA. The wind energy sector has great potential to grow in the country along with other renewable source like solar, biomass and hydropower. 160 MODERN MACHINE TOOLS - October 2011
Demand drivers
Government initiatives
The key demand driver for the energy industry is rapid growth in manufacturing sector and robust residential consumption. The recent shift in dependence on renewable energy sources offers economic, social and environmental benefits, will increase the demand for renewable energy in the country. McKinsey&Company’s analysis suggests that if India continues to grow at an average rate of 8 per cent for next ten years, country’s power demand is likely to climb from around 120 GW at present to 315 – 335 GW by 2017, 100 GW higher than the current estimates. To meet this demand, the country will require a five-fold to ten-fold increase in pace of capacity addition.
Government initiatives like concessional import duty on specified wind turbine parts, 80 per cent accelerated depreciation in the first year, excise duty reliefs, etc will further help country’s energy sector and attract global players to setup base here. As on March 2011, 14157 MW wind energy has been installed. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is aiming to have additional 6,000 MW of wind power capacity installed by 2012. Moreover, companies as well as individuals will get tax breaks for investing in green energy, especially wind farms. The noticeable fact is that coal, oil & gas will continue to be the predominant form of energy in future. However, renewable source will register an exponential growth in coming decade.