India might miss 2022 renewable energy goal

India has often talked about reducing emissions and increasing forest cover to make progress towards the Paris climate accord commitments. However, not much has been said about renewable energy.

The pandemic has halted work and projects resulting in more obstacles and smaller opportunities to meet the target of increasing renewable energy capacity to 175 GW by 2022. Solar and wind power will provide a total of 160 GW and India may be 36% behind in achieving the target.

These figures shed light on the structural challenges India faces in decarbonisation. The domestic power suppliers that control nearly 90% of electricity transactions are struggling to absorb losses, driving up more debt.