Praveer Sinha: ‘Net zero carbon emissions by 2070 is definitely doable’

When asked about measures that need to be taken in the next two to three years, Praveer focused on three things. “The distribution companies have huge losses, both financial and operational. That needs to be set right, either through privatisation or the new amendment in the Electricity Act. Second is the distributed generation opportunity, not just residential but commercial and industrial consumers who can go for 100 per cent renewable energy. Thirdly, under the ambitious KUSUM scheme, the government plans to have about three million solar pumps but we still have 30 million pumps that can be solarised,” he said.

Talking about Tata Power’s initiatives to achieve India’s target of producing 50 per cent electricity through non-fossil sources, Praveer said that the company had decided two years back to have net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Commenting that India’s solar jump, which has been quite fast, can get difficult in the longer journey, Praveer said, “Our total penetration for rooftop solar is less than 4 GW. Our total solar is just 47 GW. It’s a huge opportunity for a country like India where there are more than 300 days of sunshine. It requires a little bit of comprehensive planning.”