India
India Energy Program
We produce technical and policy analyses in the power sector, appliances, industrial and buildings energy efficiency, sustainable cities, and transportation sector.
The objective of the India Program is to provide technical assistance to Indian policy makers for transformation of the Indian economy to clean sources of energy, through policy/regulatory interventions that accelerate deployment of cutting-edge technologies. The India Program has been working with Indian policymakers and civil society for more than two decades, on addressing critical barriers in the power sector, appliances, industrial and buildings energy efficiency and transportation sector.
Our work includes reassessing the renewable energy potential in India, developing comprehensive models for optimal grid dispatch and capacity expansion, analyzing the financial and emissions impact of clean energy pathways for India, assessing the potential for efficiency enhancement in the residential, industrial and buildings sectors and sustainable transportation through adoption of Zero-Emission-Vehicles (ZEVs).
Research
India is expected to have 150 GW addition to peak load due to increased cooling demand by 2030, which can be reduced by >50 GW by standards and incentive programs. The team has conducted cost-benefit analysis showing AC efficiency improvement potential in collaboration with Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), an analysis showing technical feasibility and benefits of doubling the rate of AC efficiency improvement, utility impact and benefits analysis, presented to the Forum of Regulators by EESL, technical note for EESL on all key aspects of a super efficient, low-GWP, and smart AC bulk procurement program, and a technical note on requirements for “demand-response ready” ACs.
Contacts: Nihar Shah; Nikit Abhyankar
Renewable Energy (RE) Potential & Zones: Our study estimated developable on-shore wind potential in India at three different hub-heights and found significantly higher potential (i.e, 20 times) than the official estimate provided by Government of India Wind Agency.
Identification of high-quality RE zones can reduce the risk to project developers and facilitate preemptive transmission planning by utilities and government agencies to encourage cost-effective and, socially and environmentally responsible development. Using meso-scale satellite imagery and GIS data, the Multi-criteria Analysis for Planning Renewable Energy (MapRE) initiative seeks to provide a framework for systematic identification and valuation of areas for renewable energy development–focusing mainly on solar and wind technologies- and recommending renewable energy zones for transmission planning.
Contact: Nikit Abhyankar
Renewable electricity prices plummeted 80% between 2010 and 2019, while battery prices (specifically, Li ion) have fallen 85% between 2010 to 2020. India has announced ambitious renewable energy targets (mainly for solar and wind sources): 175 GW by 2022, 275 GW by 2027, and 450 GW by 2030. Our work focuses on enabling this clean energy pathway in an efficient and cost-effective manner:
- Comprehensive assessment of the operational impacts of integrating 175 GW RE by 2022 developed in collaboration with the Indian system operators, under Greening The Grid (GTG) initiative of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). This project encompassed power system planning reforms and targeted analysis for large RE parks and RE integration pilots.
- Significant capacity building of the Indian system operators, planners, regulators and policy-makers
Average hourly load and net load in India (2030) India's inter-state transmission network (400 kV level)
Contacts: Nikit Abhyankar, Shruti Deorah
Energy modeling efforts are essential toward providing a comprehensive vision of an economy’s future energy pathways as well as supporting the simulation of alternative sustainable development scenarios. Building on LBNL's long-term experience working with India collaborators and an existing data bank of end-use data for many sectors and sub-sectors, LBNL developed a detailed bottom-up Energy End-Use Model for India to develop energy future pathways according to assumptions on technology improvements, lifestyle behavior changes, and policy implementations. The objectives are multifold and include: (1) gathering detailed end-use data from different sectors in one tool (2) building custom-based scenarios to inform low-carbon strategies, (3) collaborating with local organizations to diffuse model applications, and (4) tracking and assessing India’s needs for meeting its current NDC commitments and advising on future revisions.
Contacts: Stephane de la Rue de Can, Shruti Deorah
Global data center energy consumption is growing rapidly.
In India, information technology industry growth, fossil-fuel generation, and rising energy prices add significant operational costs and carbon emissions from energy-intensive data centers. Adoption of energy-efficient practices can improve the global competitiveness and sustainability of data centers in India. Previous studies have concluded that advancement of energy efficiency standards through policy and regulatory mechanisms is the fastest path to accelerate the adoption of energy-efficient practices in the Indian data centers.
Please visit the link below in which we reviewed data center energy efficiency practices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Using evaluation metrics, we identified an initial set of energy efficiency standards applicable to the Indian context using the existing policy mechanisms. These preliminary findings support next steps to recommend energy efficiency standards and inform policy makers on strategies to adopt energy-efficient technologies and practices in Indian data centers:
eta-publications.lbl.gov/publications/data-center-energy-efficiency
Contacts: Reshma Singh
Our researchers work extensively on buildings energy-efficiency in India.
Building Innovation Guide
Building Innovation: Guide For High-Performance Energy-Efficient Buildings in India, is a document packed with best practices for smart, innovative buildings that will help improve India's energy security by reducing energy demand, while also showcasing U.S. technology and service providers.
The Guide was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy; findings were presented at the U.S. Green Building Council's signature Greenbuild Conference held in Mumbai in November, 2017.
"The Building Innovation Guide synthesizes years of U.S. buildings R&D, computer simulations, and on-the-ground research in India to articulate a set of strategies that can propel energy-efficient commercial building design and operations into the mainstream," said Reshma Singh, Program Director of the U.S. India Center for Building Energy Research and Development at Berkeley Lab. "Because of the extraordinary amount and pace of new construction in India, the buildings sector is now recognized as a key area to reduce energy consumption and a growing market opportunity for U.S. manufacturers."
Contact: Reshma Singh
