The World Energy Outlook 2022 report was published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) on 27 October.
Key highlights of report
- Energy demand in India is expected to be the highest globally, growing at more than 3 per cent on an annual basis, during the current decade aided by rapid urbanisation and industrialisation.
- India becomes the world’s most populous country by 2025 and, combined with the twin forces of urbanisation and industrialisation, this underpins rapid growth in energy demand, which rises by more than 3 per cent per year in the Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS) from 2021 to 2030.
- Even though India continues to make great strides with renewables deployment and efficiency policies, the sheer scale of its development means that combined import bill for fossil fuels doubles over the next two decades in the STEPS, with oil by far the largest component.
- Coal generation is projected to continue to expand but its share in electricity generation is projected to fall from just below 75% to 55% over this period.
- Government programmes such as Gati Shakti and the Self-Reliant India scheme and strong economics underpin robust growth in renewables and electric mobility, notably for two to three-wheelers.
- Renewables meet over 60% of India’s growth in demand for power. They account for 35% of the electricity mix by 2030. Solar PV alone accounts for over 15%.
- Coal will still meet a third of overall energy demand growth by 2030 for India.
- In the Announced Pledges Scenario (APS), both electrification and renewables increase faster in line with the progress needed for India to reach its net zero emissions target by 2070.
- The primary challenge for India is to meet the rising electricity demand with renewables and nuclear on a large enough scale to reduce use of unabated coal‐fired generation, which provides nearly three‐quarters of electricity supply today.
