Govt expenditure on Green Hydrogen Mission reaches Rs 11 lakh

14 Dec 2023 CW Team

The revised estimates for the Mission in the financial year 2022-23 were Rs 1,00,000, with no expenditure reported. For the fiscal year 2023-24, the revised estimates are Rs 1 billion, and the expenditure incurred to date is Rs 11 lakh, as communicated by the minister to the House.

The anticipated outcomes of the Mission by the year 2030 include India's Green Hydrogen production capacity reaching 5 million metric tonnes per annum, leading to a reduction in dependence on imported fossil fuels. The successful achievement of Mission targets is expected to result in a cumulative reduction of Rs 1 trillion in fossil fuel imports by 2030. Furthermore, the Mission is projected to attract over Rs 8 trillion in total investments and generate more than 6 lakh jobs. The production and use of the targeted quantum of Green Hydrogen are anticipated to avert nearly 50 million metric tonnes per annum of CO2 emissions, as highlighted by the minister.

In response to a query regarding the impact on cost escalation resulting from the implementation of a Uniform Renewable Energy Tariff (URET), Minister Singh conveyed in a separate written response that while the procedure for URET implementation was issued by the Ministry of Power on October 25, 2023, the actual implementation has not commenced. Therefore, the government has not conducted any assessment regarding the impact on cost escalation.

Regarding intermediary procurers, Singh clarified that they act as traders buying renewable energy (RE) power from RE Power Generators based on tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) guidelines. These intermediary procurers then sell the acquired power to one or more distribution licensees, who, in turn, supply power to consumers within their jurisdiction and have public service obligations. The minister emphasised that intermediary procurers do not have any direct public service obligation.

In another response to the House, Minister Singh reported that as of now, 72.02 gigawatts (GW) of Solar Power Projects have been installed. The government has set a target of achieving 500 GW of installed capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030, aligning with the Prime Minister's announcement at CoP-26, including capacity derived from solar energy.

It was disclosed in Parliament that the government has spent Rs 11 lakh under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, in contrast to the revised estimates of Rs 1 billion for the fiscal year 2023-24. The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy oversees the implementation of the National Green Hydrogen Mission, which was sanctioned by the Union Cabinet on January 4, 2023, with a budget of Rs 197.44 billion spanning from 2023-24 to 2029-30. Responding to the Rajya Sabha through a written reply, Union Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh emphasised that the primary goal of the Mission is to position India as a global hub for the production, utilisation, and export of Green Hydrogen and its derivatives. The revised estimates for the Mission in the financial year 2022-23 were Rs 1,00,000, with no expenditure reported. For the fiscal year 2023-24, the revised estimates are Rs 1 billion, and the expenditure incurred to date is Rs 11 lakh, as communicated by the minister to the House. The anticipated outcomes of the Mission by the year 2030 include India's Green Hydrogen production capacity reaching 5 million metric tonnes per annum, leading to a reduction in dependence on imported fossil fuels. The successful achievement of Mission targets is expected to result in a cumulative reduction of Rs 1 trillion in fossil fuel imports by 2030. Furthermore, the Mission is projected to attract over Rs 8 trillion in total investments and generate more than 6 lakh jobs. The production and use of the targeted quantum of Green Hydrogen are anticipated to avert nearly 50 million metric tonnes per annum of CO2 emissions, as highlighted by the minister. In response to a query regarding the impact on cost escalation resulting from the implementation of a Uniform Renewable Energy Tariff (URET), Minister Singh conveyed in a separate written response that while the procedure for URET implementation was issued by the Ministry of Power on October 25, 2023, the actual implementation has not commenced. Therefore, the government has not conducted any assessment regarding the impact on cost escalation. Regarding intermediary procurers, Singh clarified that they act as traders buying renewable energy (RE) power from RE Power Generators based on tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) guidelines. These intermediary procurers then sell the acquired power to one or more distribution licensees, who, in turn, supply power to consumers within their jurisdiction and have public service obligations. The minister emphasised that intermediary procurers do not have any direct public service obligation. In another response to the House, Minister Singh reported that as of now, 72.02 gigawatts (GW) of Solar Power Projects have been installed. The government has set a target of achieving 500 GW of installed capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030, aligning with the Prime Minister's announcement at CoP-26, including capacity derived from solar energy.