With 17 per cent of the world population and just 0.8 per cent of the world’s known oil and natural gas resources, India has to seriously consider adopting renewable energy solutions, having embarked on the economic highway. Considering that efforts to accelerate the renewable energy sector have been half-hearted, some experts have proposed the need for a renewable energy law. Both China and Germany, which have such a law have seen some progress in the renewable sector.

A draft law, prepared by the Pune-based World Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE) proposes to increase the target for electricity generation from renewables to 10 per cent by 2010 (as against 2012 currently) and 20 per cent by 2020, of the total electricity generated in the country.

The law seeks to “remove some ambiguities or amplify some provisions in the Electricity Act, 2003”, relating to provisions dealing with renewable electricity generation. These deal  with issues of access to the grid, grid expansion costs, charges for access to the grid network and tariff setting. In all these areas, preferential treatment to renewables has been proposed to hasten its growth.

To achieve the objectives of energy independence, the three technology missions enumerated are solar, biofuels and hydrogen.

For stand-alone and microsystems, the draft suggests some measures aimed at facilitating their faster growth as also to address rural energy needs:  solar water heating to be made mandatory throughout the urban areas of the country by 2012, in a phased manner; a time-bound programme of demonstration of solar rooftop lighting systems in 10,000 government buildings by 2010, also incorporating building integrated photovoltaics. In fact, Bangaloreans can draw some amount of pride in that the Vidhana Soudha has taken the first step in this direction and has set PV panels on its roof.

Conversion of fossil fuel-based industrial heating to solar thermal heating using new solar concentrator technology or its hybrids; time-bound conversion of captive units to biofuel-based generation so as to save large amounts of diesel (India has at present about 30,000 MW captive generating units of which about 18,000 MW are diesel based); indigenous development of small wind power systems up to 25 KW (and hybrids) for stand alone applications, etc are other measures.

A separate chapter of the law deals with accelerating biofuel development and transportation energy to displace fossil fuels. Time-bound programmes for biodiesel engine production, introduction of hybrid vehicles, increasing railroad efficiency and development of ultra-efficient aircraft technology have been proposed. Focus has also been on Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations.

An interesting proposal is the involvement of all national research laboratories, IITs, universities, industry and non-government institutions in making renewables a viable option. A renewable energy council at the Centre and penalties as under the Electricity Act, etc are some other things laid out in the draft.

Last month saw a delegation led by Pramod Deo, Chairman, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission and G M Pillai, Founder Director General, WISE, visit Delhi and submit the model Renewable Energy Law to Vilas Muttemwar, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy. The minister has promised to process the same for Parliament's approval.

While drafting the model law, WISE was driven by the three main issues of climate change, peaking of production, depletion and extinction of fossil fuels, and energy independence.

WISE has been studying legislation relevant to renewable energy in countries like UK, Germany, Austria, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Australia, China and the United States of America. What it found was that all the countries have a general Electricity/Energy Act and yet have decided to enact separate legislation for promotion of renewables. “It is time India also does the same thing,” says Pillai.

WISE sought the help of the National Law School of India University in Bangalore. The draft prepared was then examined and revised by an expert committee headed by Pramod Deo.
(For more details visit http://relaw.wisein.org)