The Indian economy faces significant challenges in terms of meeting its energy needs in the coming decade. Increasing energy requirements coupled with a slower than expected increase in domestic fuel production has meant the extent of imports in energy mix is growing rapidly. Being amongst the top five greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters globally, India has a responsibility to achieve the growth trajectory in an environmentally sensitive and responsible manner and has set a voluntary target to cut the emissions intensity of GDP by 20-25 percent by 2020 compared to the 2005 level.
In this backdrop, the thrust on renewable sources of energy is a step in the right direction. In this report, KPMG analyzes how solar power can address some of the energy challenges facing the nation today and concludes that solar power presents an immense opportunity to contribute to India’s energy requirements. The report focuses on the solar cost trends and looks at segments of the market which are most suitable for adoption of solar power within the coming years, and suggests that solar energy can contribute to about 7 percent of India’s total energy needs, offset about 30 percent of India’s imported coal requirements and provide investment opportunities across the value chain with more than one million direct jobs likely to be created by 2022. Moreover, the report posits that the potential of the solar energy sector and its impact on India’s energy security and GHG mitigation can be far greater than is generally believed.