By 2050, about 69% of the electricity produced in India will comefrom renewable energy sources. ‘New’ renewables – mainly wind,solar thermal energy and PV – will contribute almost 40%. Theinstalled capacity of renewable energy technologies will grow fromthe current 38 GW to 1,659 GW in 2050, a substantial increaseover the next 42 years.

Figure 6.7 shows the comparative evolution of different renewabletechnologies over time. Up to 2030, wind will remain the main newpower source. After 2020, the continuing growth of wind will becomplemented by electricity from biomass, photovoltaics and solarthermal (CSP) energy.

Figure 6.8 shows that the introduction of renewable technologiesunder the Energy [R]evolution Scenario significantly decreases thefuture costs of electricity generation compared to the ReferenceScenario. Because of the lower CO2 intensity, electricity generationcosts will become economically favourable under the Energy[R]evolution Scenario and by 2050 will be more than 5 cents/kWhbelow those in the Reference Scenario.

Under the Reference Scenario, a massive growth in demand,increased fossil fuel prices and the cost of CO2 emissions result intotal electricity supply costs rising from today’s $64 billion per yearto more than $1,145 bn in 2050. Figure 6.9 shows that the Energy[R]evolution Scenario not only complies with India’s CO2 reductiontargets but also helps to stabilise energy costs. Increasing energyefficiency and shifting energy supply to renewables leads to longterm costs that are one third lower than in the Reference Scenario.