India can cut carbon emissions by deploying renewables, gas power: GE Gas Power

GE Gas Power on Monday said India can make substantive reductions in emissions from the power sector through the accelerated and strategic deployment of renewables and gas power.

GE Gas Power released a position paper titled 'The key to India's energy future' that discusses India's urgent need to cutting CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions from the power sector and adopting near-zero carbon power generation technology.

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The position paper advocates and outlines policy actions that can help India to chart a unique path to a cleaner economy with affordable, reliable and sustainable power for all, according to a statement by GE Gas Power.

"India can make substantive reductions in emissions from the power sector through the accelerated and strategic deployment of renewables and gas power," it stated.

The position paper advocates and outlines policy actions that can help India to chart a unique path to a cleaner economy with affordable, reliable and sustainable power for all, it added. India is facing significant environmental challenges, owing to the emissions from the power sector, dominated by fossil fuel-based power generation.

The power sector in India accounts for 49 per cent of total CO2 emissions, compared with the global average of 41 per cent, it explained.

On the other hand, the electricity demand in India is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5 per cent during 2018-40.

It's critical to urgently adopt cleaner powering technologies at a scale that can complement each other and act as growth levers towards creating a sustainable power generation mix, it added.

Deepesh Nanda, chief executive officer of GE Gas Power South Asia, said, "India's strategy to move towards using low to zero-carbon fuels for electricity generation is bringing a paradigm shift in the energy space in the region as well as globally."

However, the country's plan to provide round-the-clock power for all in the backdrop of the growing renewable energy (RE) base is facing challenges such as intermittency of renewable power, low-capacity utilisation of transmission system and grid firming requirements as RE achieves scale in the coming decades, Nanda added.

He said this is leading to renewables curtailment and there is an urgent need to meet the flexibility requirements of the power system operation, providing adequate base-load power and reliability of electricity supply.

GE believes that a two-part tariff based on peak and non-peak demand is key to address the flexibility needs of the system, it said.

The position paper presents a scenario wherein gas-fired power plants, which can be developed quickly, taking significantly less space and at scale, are available regardless of the time of day or weather conditions, providing dependable capacity as long as needed, whether for minutes, hours, days or weeks at a time.

Emission compliant and flexible gas-based power generation, with its quick start-up, deeper turndown levels and faster ramp rates is a key enabler to integrate more renewables into the national grid and meet seasonal and peak power demand.

Nanda said India has the potential to become the global focal point when it comes to adopting new low-carbon technology.

He added that policy-level interventions to mitigate the existing power sector challenges can instil confidence among the investors and ensure inclusive growth. "Such steps can help India to move faster towards achieving energy security in the coming decades."

Based on a study of the Indian power sector and GE's global experience, GE Gas Power makes key recommendations in the position paper with respect to the round-the-clock power plan.

As India embarks on its journey to become a global hub for green hydrogen, GE believes hydrogen to be a key focus area having major roleplay in power generation.

GE Gas Power is a world leader in natural gas power technology, services, and solutions. In India, the company has a significant installed base of over 260 utility and industrial gas turbines across both government and private sector power plants.