To Promote Clean Energy Consumption, Power Ministry proposes Amendment to Energy Conservation Act, 2001

What is the News?

The Ministry of Power has proposed amendments to the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 with an aim to achieve higher levels of penetration of Renewable energy. 

What are the amendments proposed to the Energy Conservation Act, 2001?

Define the minimum share of renewable energy in the overall consumption by the industrial units or any establishment.

Provision to incentivise efforts on using clean energy sources by means of a carbon saving certificate.

To strengthen the institutions originally envisaged under the Act

To expand the scope of the Act to include larger Residential buildings with an aim to promote Sustainable Habitat.

What is the significance of these proposed amendments?

India has committed to an ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of reducing emission intensity by 33-35% in 2030 against the levels of 2005. 

India also aims to achieve more than 40% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel energy resources by 2030.

To achieve these goals, the proposed amendments would help by facilitating the development of the carbon market in India, increasing private sector involvement in climate actions and promoting green Hydrogen as an alternative to the existing fossil fuels.

Source: This post is based on the article “To Promote Clean Energy Consumption, Power Ministry proposes Amendment to Energy Conservation Act, 2001” published in PIB on 31st October 2021.