LBNL says India can attain energy independence by 2047

India can achieve energy independence by 2047, when it celebrates 100 years of independence, according to a study by the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The study titled “Pathways to Atmanirbhar Bharat” also notes India’s energy infrastructure needs an investment of $3 trillion in the coming decades.

It determined that achieving energy independence will generate significant economic, environmental, and energy benefits for India which include $2.5 trillion in consumer savings through 2047, reducing fossil fuel import expenditure by 90 per cent or $240 billion per year, enhancing India’s industrial competitiveness globally, and enabling its netzero commitment ahead of schedule.

The study shows that India’s energy independence pathway would involve the power sector installing more than 500 GW of non-fossil electricity generation capacity by 2030, a goal already announced by the government, followed by an 80 percent clean grid by 2040 and 90 percent by 2047.

Nearly 100 percent of new vehicle sales could be electric by 2035. Heavy industrial production could shift primarily to green hydrogen and electrification, it said. Most of the lithium needed (estimated 2 million tons by 2040) for manufacturing new electric vehicles and grid-scale battery storage systems could be produced domestically using newly discovered reserves, it said.

In addition, the Indian industry must transition to clean technologies such as EV and green steel manufacturing. India is one of the world’s largest auto and steel exporters, with their largest markets in EU countries committed to carbon neutrality and a potential carbon border adjustment tariff, it said.

According to the press release, the study also finds that India has a unique advantage to leapfrog to a clean energy future since the bulk of its energy infrastructure is yet to be built.