New Delhi, March 22 (IANS) The Bharat Electricity Summit's (BES) maiden edition concluded successfully on Sunday with India reaffirming its commitment to building a future-ready, technology-driven, and investment-friendly energy ecosystem, while supporting the energy needs of both the nation and the Global South.
The Indian Carbon Market Portal was also launched, with trading expected to begin shortly, marking a major step in climate finance.
The outcomes of the summit will contribute significantly to shaping policy, strengthening partnerships, and accelerating the transition towards a reliable, affordable, and clean energy future, according to an official statement.
In his valedictory address at the event, Power Minister Manohar Lal noted that during the summit, there were fruitful discussions with many countries and especially African nations. It emerged clearly that India and the African nations have a win-win possibility of cooperating in the power sector and beyond.
The summit facilitated multiple high-level bilateral meetings with countries including Malawi, Tajikistan, Mauritius, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia, as well as industry stakeholders such as Africa50 and international delegations. These engagements focused on cross-border electricity trade, renewable energy collaboration and transmission infrastructure development.
Drawing inspiration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision, India continues to advance rapidly towards achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, having already crossed the milestone of over 50 per cent non-fossil capacity. Initiatives such as One Sun, One World, One Grid further underscore India’s commitment to global energy cooperation, Manohar Lal said.
While thermal power remains critical for grid stability, renewable energy will drive long-term sustainability, supported by storage, grid modernisation, and policy reforms, he added.
The country’s total installed capacity has crossed 520 GW, with one of the fastest expansions globally. The transmission network has expanded to over 5 lakh circuit kilometres. The country’s renewable energy capacity has grown significantly, with solar capacity increasing from 2.8 GW in 2014 to over 143 GW today.
Electricity demand is projected to grow by over 30 per cent by 2030, driven by emerging sectors such as AI-enabled data centres and electric mobility.
Addressing the gathering, Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal highlighted that discussions with industry bodies have indicated an estimated Rs 32,000 crore capex pipeline by manufacturers in the power sector. He emphasised the need for system-level evaluation of power costs to ensure affordability, and underscored the urgency of rapidly scaling up energy storage capacities for effective integration of renewable energy.
The discussions highlighted that India’s long-term energy transition may require investments exceeding USD 22 trillion by 2070, with significant opportunities in generation, transmission, storage, and digital infrastructure.
India needs to add over 1.37 lakh circuit km of transmission lines by 2030, with investments of around Rs 9 lakh crore. Energy storage requirements are expected to rise sharply, with pumped storage potential of over 200 GW.
Manohar Lal noted that there is a need to strengthen DISCOMs through different actions and reforms. He noted that during the summit, the Discoms expressed a strong willingness to take necessary actions to improve their operations and financial situation. He said that the intended reforms in the sector include the adoption of smart meters, cost-reflective tariffs, etc.
The summit witnessed an exceptional response, with over 35,000 exhibition attendees, 28 states and Union Territories, 200+ exhibiting companies, including 80+ startups, and over 6,000 delegates, reflecting its scale and global significance.
The minister also announced that the next edition of BES will be held in 2028 at Gandhinagar.
--IANS
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