Blueprint for Mumbai’s net zero vision revealed

India’s financial capital Mumbai, considered amongst the most vulnerable cities globally to hazards of climate change is charting out a blueprint of becoming the first South Asian city to achieve net-zero carbon emission status by 2050.

The plan is ambitious but­ the city hopes to be net zero carbon 20 years before the target year that India has set for itself.

Creating a favourable eco-system for e-mobility will play a key role in implementation, and already the main civic bodies, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is working out the modalities of the plan.

The MCGB, has already mapped out the city based on several spatial parameters such as population density, income, public amenities like bus stops, railway stations, shopping malls, offices, eateries, amongst others utilising geographic information system (GIS) platforms. Based on an initial study, the need for 21096 charging points requiring about 550 MW of electricity consumption by 2025 has been identified. However, the demand is likely to explode over the next five years in 2030 when about 141988 charging points will be needed and 3,416 MWh of electricity consumption.

The BMC in collaboration with NITI Aayog, Ministry of Power, Department of Science and Technology and Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and WRI India is developing a step-by-step roadmap for reaching its milestones. The WRI India Ross Center, a research organization, is working with MCGB in its planning programme. The BMC has also held meetings with residential housing societies, customers, various Central and State agencies, vehicle manufacturers, oil manufacturing companies (OMC)s, EV charging operators, battery OEMs and electricity distribution companies.

Maharashtra has said it aims to achieve a 10 percent share of EV in new vehicle registrations by 2025 and mandates setting up of at least one charging station in every 3×3 kilometer grid. The state’s policy focuses on the five of the most populated urban areas which includes Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, Nashik, Nagpur. The BMC’s transport arm has announced lans to have 50 percent of its fleets as EVs by 2023 and 100 percent by 2027.

The BMC expects a roll out tenders for charging stations in the coming years.

Source: https://www.autocarpro.in/