India is poised to lead the global green energy demand: Hardeep Singh Puri

New Delhi [India], September 11 (ANI): India has a natural advantage in producing Green Hydrogen due to the low cost and abundance of solar energy and investments in the power grid, the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, said on Wednesday.

Addressing the gathering at the 2nd International Conference on Green Hydrogen, Puri said India has great potential in the sector as it has one of the largest synchronous grids in the world, which can handle intermittent renewable energy and that the country’s installed solar capacity has increased 32 times from 2.6 GW in 2014 to 85.5 GW now.

India is poised to lead the global green energy demand and the rising domestic demand across diverse sectors.

Puri said, more than Rs. 30 lakh crores of investment is expected to come into the country to meet the target of 500 GW by 2030. He said that multilateral development banks have pledged up to USD 27 billion for India’s green growth.

“With the available engineering talent in our country, India’s transition to the greener economy will be a smooth one helping the country to position itself as a pivotal market for green hydrogen,” he said.

The government has implemented a Green Hydrogen Policy with a production target of 5 million tonnes by 2030 and related development of renewable energy capacity. The Cabinet has approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission, with an initial outlay of Rs.19,744 crores.

Under the policy, he said that the government provides incentives such as the waiver of inter-state transmission charges for 25 years to the manufacturers of Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia for projects commissioned before 30 June 2025 will accelerate production.

“The achievement of mission targets is expected to reduce a cumulative Rs. 1 lakh crores worth of fossil fuel imports by 2030. This is likely to yield over Rs. 8 lakh crores in investments and create over 6 lakh jobs,” Puri said.

The Union Minister further stated, “The global value chain for Green Hydrogen is still in the nascent stages. India must consider the nuances of issues such as green financing, hydrogen trade routes, human resource upskilling, and start-up initiatives apart from the concerns of regular production, storage, and transport-related issues.”

Going further, urging the industry’s support, Puri said that the country needs active support and collaboration amongst all stakeholders if it wants to position itself as the world’s green hydrogen hub.

Speaking at the summit, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said that green hydrogen is a way forward towards sustainability.

“India is moving to become a key global player in the green hydrogen market, that is why we launched the Green Hydrogen mission. Integrating the green hydrogen, between India’s energy mix and the industrial process will not only enhance our global positioning but also the environmental and social goals,” said Pralhad Joshi.

“We are confident that reducing the import of natural gas will have a savings of Rs 1 lakh crore,” Joshi added.