India is expected to experience fastest rise in energy demand among countries worldwide by 2040 — leading to growth in the demand for wires and cables.
February 15, 2021
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has forecasted India’s energy demand to grow at the fastest pace globally over the next two decades in line with the country’s economic expansion.
“India has made remarkable progress in recent years, bringing electricity connections to hundreds of millions of people and impressively scaling up the use of renewable energy, particularly solar,” said Dr. Fatih Birol, executive director, IEA.
India has an opportunity to meet its targets without following the high-carbon pathway that other economies have pursued in the past.
“The energy policy successes of the Indian government to date make me very optimistic about its ability to meet the challenges ahead in terms of energy security and sustainability,” said Dr. Birol.
In a report titled “The India Energy Outlook 2021″, the IEA said rapid expansion of solar power combined with favorable policies is transforming India’s electricity sector, allowing the country to offer clean, affordable and reliable power to a growing number of households and businesses. However, it added that transport and industrial sectors – such as road freight, steel and cement – would be far more challenging to develop in a sustainable manner.
“India’s energy future depends on buildings and factories that are yet to be built… Based on India’s current policy settings, 60 percent of its CO2 emissions in the late 2030s will be coming from infrastructure that does not exist today. This represents a huge opening for policies to steer India onto a more secure and sustainable course,” IEA said in its report.
The report said that the additional funding for clean energy technologies required to put India on a sustainable path over the next 20 years was USD 1.4 trillion, or 70 percent, higher than in a scenario based on its current policy settings.
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According to the report, India’s ability to ensure affordable, clean and reliable energy for its growing population will be vital for the future development of its economy, but avoiding the kind of carbon-intensive path previously followed by other countries will require strong policies, technological leaps and a surge in clean energy investment.
