'Climate change could impact Maharashtra’s renewable energy potential’

The latest study by researchers at the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) poses an interesting question for Maharashtra’s push for renewable energy – amongst many other areas and aspects of everyday lives: climate change is set to impact India’s solar and wind energy potential over the next five decades.

Maharashtra currently ranks among the top states in terms of installed renewable energy capacity (10.78 GW), with wind power capacity of 5.01 GW and solar power capacity of 2.75 GW contributing the most, which includes being second in the race on decentralised renewable energy (DRE). As of June 30, 2022, renewable energy contributes 24.36 per cent to Maharashtra’s power mix.

This has prompted the state to launch an ambitious initiative to build new solar plants throughout districts to produce 12 GW of renewable energy over the next six years with the goal of increasing the amount of available power and lowering power purchase costs in the future. Meanwhile, the state also accounts for 15 per cent of the country’s wind energy potential.

This latest study, titled ‘Analysis of future wind and solar potential over India using climate models’, has been published in the peer-reviewed journal Current Science and has been authored by T S Anandh, Deepa Gopalakrihsnan and Parthasarathi Mukhopadhyay, researchers from IITM Pune.

“Our industry must adapt to the changing climate, and our technologies must keep pace. Such predictions should not be taken as facts but as possibilities. The efficiency of renewable energy may be impacted by climate change in Maharashtra and the neighbouring areas...,” said Mukhopadhyay.

According to the state’s Unconventional Energy Generation Policy, Maharashtra intends to continue on its leadership track and generate 40 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The state experiences 250 to 300 days of bright sunshine annually; thus, on average, it witnesses up to four to six kilowatt hours (kWh) per square metre.

Between 2016 and 2021, the installed solar capacity of Maharashtra has increased by 614 per cent, from 385.76 MW in 2016 to 2753.30 MW in 2022, according to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

The state’s Unconventional Energy Generation Policy seeks to implement 17.36 GW of transmission system-connected renewable power projects by 2025, including 12.93 GW of solar projects including 2 GW of grid-connected rooftop solar projects.

Maharashtra has a reasonable wind potential of roughly 45 GW and 100 GW at 100m and 120m, respectively. Maharashtra is one of the seven windy states in India.