Gandhinagar, June 5 (Hindustan Times). Gujarat is working fast with the aim of achieving the goal of making India Net Zero Carbon Emission by the year 2070. There has been a reduction of 55 percent in carbon emissions in the process of energy production in Gujarat.
On the occasion of World Environment Day, the Energy Department of Gujarat said in a statement that due to the state’s new solar policy 2021, the state has achieved success in reducing carbon emissions during the process of energy production by 55 percent. The state government released the Gujarat Solar Policy 2021 on 29 December 2020 and in the last 2.5 years, the state has reduced carbon emissions by 9.32 million tonnes in the process of energy production.
According to Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL), “Due to the high increase in installed capacity of renewable energy in Gujarat, dependence on conventional methods of power generation has reduced, due to which the carbon emissions due to energy production in Gujarat have reduced. There has been a huge shortage. If we look at the carbon emission data, compared to 17.42 million tonnes less CO2 emission in December 2020, there has been 26.74 million tonnes less CO2 emission in April 2023. In addition, after the announcement of the Solar Policy-2021, GUVNL has tied up for 6180 MW of solar and 1100 MW of wind power, which will result in reduction of 11.06 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over the next three years.”
The state government has also set up a dedicated decarbonization cell by 2022. This cell is working under the Gujarat Energy Training and Research Institute (GETRI). The cell consists of expert officers from energy transmission, energy production, distribution, finance and commerce domains, working with a long-term perspective on aspects such as decarbonization and net zero in Gujarat.
The Government of Gujarat is giving high priority to renewable energy to meet its current energy requirement and future energy needs. As a result, as of December 2020, the share of renewable energy (solar wind hydro energy) in Gujarat with an installed capacity of 13,039 MW was 35%, which by April 2023, the share of renewable energy has increased with a contribution of 20,432 MW in the installed capacity. It has become 44 percent. The state government aims to take this installed capacity of renewable energy up to 80% by the year 2030 and meet 50% of the energy requirement of the state through renewable energy.
In addition, GUVNL has initiated efforts for tie-up of about 2379 MW of Energy Storage Systems (ESS). Also, GSECL has identified 33 potential locations and eight reservoirs for Pumped Storage Plants (PSPs) in Gujarat and National Hydro Electric Power Corporation Pvt Ltd has also agreed to complete feasibility studies for all 41 locations within 1.5 months. expressed his commitment.
It is noteworthy that on June 2, 2023, in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, the Gujarat government has also signed an MoU with the Tata group regarding the manufacturing of lithium ion cells. After this, Gujarat will become the first state in the country to start manufacturing lithium ion cells. All these efforts of the state government will not only create a sustainable energy ecosystem in Gujarat but also help in achieving the low carbon emission targets set by the state government as its by-product.
