Climate change could impact India’s renewable energy potential over the next 50 years

The expanse and success of wind energy in India is concentrated in a few states because of the commercial viability and favourable wind and climate conditions they offer. About 95 percent of the installed wind energy in the country is in eight states – Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana and Tamil Nadu – according to government data. Solar energy projects, meanwhile, are mushrooming across the country.

Renewable energy production, however, is expected to be impacted by climate change, finds a recent study, by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune. The researchers claim that over most of India’s landmass, solar potential would decrease in the near future. Wind potential, on the other hand, shows an increasing trend on the onshore regions in India but the potential in the offshore areas shows a decreasing trend for non-monsoon months.

The study used climate models such as Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX), Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) and CMIP6 to understand climate projections for various parts of the country over five decades. The information provided by these models helps analyse the availability of renewable energy sources in the future.