United Nations: India has told a high-level energy meeting here that it will not be fair to expect it to move away from coal to meet energy requirements of millions of Indians, underscoring that coal will continue to remain the "mainstay" of its energy needs for the "foreseeable future."
"Our energy challenge is truly huge. The numbers speak for themselves," said Minister for State for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal at the First Global Energy Ministerial SE4ALL Forum Meeting Wednesday.
India has 56 million homes or 280 million Indians, almost the size of the population of the US, who lack access to basic electricity and more than 500 million are still deprived of access to clean energy fuels, he said.
"Just as in all other countries, including the developed world, coal will continue to remain the mainstay of our energy related needs for the foreseeable future.
"In all fairness, it would not be correct to say or to expect India to move away from coal when we are at the cusp of our developmental journey," Goyal said.
He said that countries that have benefited over the years from cheap fossil fuel-based energy, must also participate proactively in efforts to leave behind a cleaner planet by expanding the scope of renewable energy.
"I believe this has to be a shared responsibility of the developed world and the developing countries," he said.
"The developed world, which has over the last 150 years enjoyed this low cost power for its own growth and prosperity must share this responsibility and come forward proactively in a much deeper engagement with the developing countries," he said.
Goyal outlined Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's mission to provide 24/7 energy access to every Indian across the length and breadth of the country by 2019.
"We do understand and it is indeed incumbent upon us to protect the world to ensure a cleaner planet for the next generation.
"However, it is also important to understand the agony of poverty. It is important to understand the pain that the common man experiences when he is required to pay very high cost for energy," he said.
Goyal invited the Sustainable Energy for All Advisory Board to hold their meeting in India next summer as that will give them an opportunity to "see for themselves and experience how critical it is for us to have universal energy access at affordable prices."
He said India has put in place possibly the world's largest programme and agenda in order to expand its renewable energy capacity five-fold in the next seven years, taking its output of renewable energy from the current level of 60 billion units to about 300 billion units.
Further, to fully integrate this renewable energy to its grid, India is upgrading its transmission systems by setting up green energy corridors at an investment of nearly USD 30-40 billion.
He estimated that India will need at least USD 100-150 billion dollars to scale up its renewable energy capacity to these levels.
In addition, the country would also need nearly USD 30 billion for its energy efficiency programme which is expected to save about 120 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per annum.
"The challenge for renewable energy in India...Is clearly affordable financing. Meeting this challenge is not possible unless we ensure adequate financing at competitive prices," he said adding that the current tariffs are at about 10-12 cents per kw which we need to reduce to 6-7 cents.
He, however, added that India does not believe subsidies can be the answer since subsidies can only cause distress in the long run as is experienced by some countries in Europe.
"We urge the developed countries and the Sustainable Energy for All Forum to facilitate the flow of long tenure low cost funding for developed countries in days to come," he said.
Goyal invited international investments to help India achieve its ambitious energy targets. "This is an unprecedented investment opportunity - a unique business proposition - which not only serves humanity but also serves your balance sheet," he added.
