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This paper investigates the relationship between financial development and access to electricity for rural and urban India by incorporating economic growth, trade, and foreign direct investment in energy production function. In doing so, we have applied autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing to examine long run cointegration between the variables by accommodating structural break(s) stemming in the series. Our empirical results indicate the presence of cointegration association between access to electricity and its determinants. We note that financial development enhances access to electricity in rural India but declines it in urban India. Economic growth has positive effect on access to electricity. Trade openness and foreign direct investment lower access to electricity in rural India. In urban India, trade openness and foreign direct investment increase access to electricity. The association between financial development and access to electricity is inverted-U shaped for rural and urban India. This paper would present new policy direction for Indian government to enhance access to electricity by using financial development as an economic tool. • Financial development and access to electricity have a strong linkage. • In India financial development enhances access to electricity in rural area but has adverse effect in urban area. • Rise in economic growth of India has increased the access to electricity. • Growth of Trade Openness and Foreign Direct investment increase access to electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the first comprehensive hourly-resolution scenario study of the Indian electricity system with a view to investigate the transition from fossil to renewable energy-based power generation. Currently, India is 76% dependent on coal for power generation, however ambitious goals exist. Energy organisations including International Renewable Energy Agency and The Energy and Resources Institute, have presented scenarios but neither with support of dynamic simulation nor with assessment of optimal renewable energy contributions. In this paper, the optimal electricity system is analyzed in comparison with these. Results show that an optimal scenario could supply the hourly electricity by (i) increasing production capacity to about 615 GW, which is a 98.3% increase compared to the 310 GW in 2016, (ii) improving capacity factor of wind power and photovoltaic to 27% and 21% respectively, (iii) increasing wind power production to 433 TWh/yr (from 46 GWh/yr in 2016), solar photovoltaic to 290 TWh/yr (12 GWh/yr in 2016), river hydro to 42 TWh/yr (7.7 GWh/yr in 2016), biomass and nuclear power of 15 GW each. The costs of the identified optimal scenario are lower than of the previous scenarios. Finally, simulations show that inclusion of optimal proportion of biomass and nuclear could avoid any import dependency. • Design and analysis of renewable energy scenarios for India. • Evaluation of the cost structure of renewable energy scenarios. • Comparison with official Indian scenarios. • Proposes the Renewable Nuclear Dependency Index (RNDI) for evaluating scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainability transition of electricity sectors is a matter of competition between multiple emerging renewable systems and dominant, established conventional systems. These transitions are multi-dimensional and are featured with non-linear and causal interactions between social, technical, economic and political components. Understanding the dynamic of transitions, i.e. how transitions unfold, can inform effective policy interventions. This paper aims to present a narrative-modelling approach to improve the understanding and description of transition dynamics in electricity sectors. The central ideas of the paper are: (1) the use of qualitative transition narratives helps to capture the co-evolving nature of society and technology which are simplified in modelling approaches; (2) narratives, with concepts from the sustainability transitions field, also guide the development of a model structure; and (3) computational models, in return, reproduce the complexity of transition dynamics, i.e. feedback loops, non-linearity, and time delays—the features which are impracticable to analyse with transition narratives alone. We use the historical transition of India's electricity sector to demonstrate the implementation of our proposed approach. First, an overview of the transition narratives is presented and the model structure, developed based on the narratives, is explained. Then, it is argued how the coupling of the narratives and model improves our understating of the positive impacts as well as the side-effects of stable feed-in tariffs and accelerated depreciation on the penetration levels of wind and solar electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the costs of solar PV continuously decrease and pollution legislation imposes less burning of agricultural residues, decentralized renewable energy is increasingly affordable for providing electricity to one billion people lacking access to a power grid. This paper presents a techno-economic feasibility case study of biomass gasification in off-grid and grid-connected mini-grids for community-scale energy application in rural Uttar Pradesh, India. Energy demand data was collected through surveys in a village with irrigation and agro-processing loads and off-grid households and used to construct a seasonal load profile based on statistical methods. This was used to simulate single-source and hybrid mini-grids based on solar PV, biomass gasification and diesel generation using HOMER Pro. Hybrid PV-biomass or PV-diesel systems were found to offer the highest reliability for off-grid power at the lowest cost. Single-source PV was cheaper than biomass gasification, though the cost of electricity is highly sensitive to biomass supply and gasifier maintenance. Both renewable options were around half the cost of diesel generation. The findings held across grid-connected systems with weak, moderate and strong reliability of grid supply. This suggests that biomass gasification-based mini-grids are not cost-competitive with PV unless the two generation sources are combined in a hybrid system, though they require operational testing prior to implementation. Image 1 • Hybrid PV–biomass or PV–diesel systems offer higher reliability at lower cost. • PV is cheaper than biomass gasification mini-grids for productive energy provision. • Grid-connected PV offers lowest LCOE over 20 years for strong and weak grid supply. • LCOE of biomass systems is highly sensitive to biomass requirement and maintenance. • PV–biomass systems appear resilient to operating parameters but lack field testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's electricity requirements will continue to grow with its increasing population and urbanization. Climate change, increased carbon emissions, and the depletion of nonrenewable energy resources have forced India to shift to renewable energy resources. India's solar potential is large enough to provide 100-percent of its current electricity requirements if photovoltaic arrays and energy storage infrastructure of sufficient size is deployed. In this paper, we modeled the dynamics of net electricity input and output from a photovoltaic electricity (PV) system as it is built out to provide the entire electricity demand by 2050. The results showed that building a PV system large enough to meet the nation's entire electricity demand by 2050 is possible; however, it will require a rapid increase in the deployment of solar PV and the associated storage infrastructure over the next few decades. Such rapid expansion of the PV system will require substantial electricity allocation away from general societal use and towards building the photovoltaic system equipment and integrating it with existing infrastructure. This will lead to a short-term lack of electricity supply for general use by society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Renewable energy-based off-grid or decentralised electricity supply has traditionally considered a single technology-based limited level of supply to meet the basic needs, without considering reliable energy provision to rural consumers. The purpose of this paper is to propose the best hybrid technology combination for electricity generation from a mix of renewable energy resources to satisfy the electrical needs in a reliable manner of an off-grid remote village, Palari in the state of Chhattisgarh, India. Four renewable resources, namely, small-scale hydropower, solar photovoltaic systems, wind turbines and bio-diesel generators are considered. The paper estimates the residential, institutional, commercial, agricultural and small-scale industrial demand in the pre-HOMER analysis. Using HOMER, the paper identifies the optimal off-grid option and compares this with conventional grid extension. The solution obtained shows that a hybrid combination of renewable energy generators at an off-grid location can be a cost-effective alternative to grid extension and it is sustainable, techno-economically viable and environmentally sound. The paper also presents a post-HOMER analysis and discusses issues that are likely to affect/influence the realisation of the optimal solution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Although independent regulatory agencies are emerging worldwide, there remains little understanding about how they operate in practice, particularly in developing countries. This paper seeks to examine the practice of electricity regulation in India, using case studies of three state-level electricity regulators. Based on documentary analysis and interviews with regulators, government, utilities and stakeholders, the paper examines how regulation is shaped by institutional and political context, how regulators make decisions in practice, and how they engage with stakeholders and with what effects. Based on the Indian experience, we suggest that in a rapidly changing electricity sector, the separation between the political and economic content of regulatory decisions, as is often advocated, may not be feasible or indeed desirable. Instead, we suggest a more proactive regulatory approach where governments give regulators the latitude to proactively steer the sector. For this approach to be viable, regulators need to build adequate technical capacity, institutional legitimacy, and democratic legitimacy in their dealings with stakeholders. This approach entails a bolder, and more challenging vision of regulation, but one that promises greater transformational potential than does the model of technocratic and apolitical regulation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: During the colonial times, electricity in India developed for a significant part thanks to British investment. Its growth remained modest and mainly linked to industrial needs, public lighting and common transportation. World War II stimulated industrial production and, consequently, the demand for electricity. The immediate years following the war were even more promising since the preparations for national Independence included a major restructuring of electricity generation and distribution. The 1948 Law on electricity and the first 5-year plans which began in 1951 set the framework for a major development. Instead of nationalization, India chose a policy which allowed for the participation of both private and public enterprises. British and Indian private investment responded positively to the change. At the beginning of the 1950s, the British presence was felt in the power industry. However, a decade later, it was already diminishing. This paper explains the nature of the policy which allowed a partnership between private and public sectors, the reasons why the latter finally prevailed over the former and the consequences on British investment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: India is fast emerging economy in Asia and world. India's manufacturing sector is growing faster and domestic demand is also increasing. India has a severe electricity shortage. It needs massive additions in capacity to meet the demand of its rapidly growing economy. To maintain the pace of economic growth with reduction in emission of greenhouse gases, India must reduce its dependency on fossil fuels for electrification. Hence the requirement of solar power installations in India has increased. In this context, this study aims to develop a structural model of the barriers to implement solar power installations in India. Thirteen relevant barriers to implement solar power installations have been identified from the literature and subsequent discussions with experts from academia and industry. Contextual relationships among these barriers have been identified and interpretive structural modeling (ISM) technique based, a structural model of barriers to implement solar power installations in India has been developed. MICMAC analysis has also been used to carry out the classification of barriers based on dependence and driving power. One barrier has been identified as top level barrier and six bottom level barriers. This paper also suggests the different ways of removal of these barriers. Better understanding of these barriers would help organizations and government bodies to prioritize and manage their resources in an effective and efficient way so that maximum number of solar power projects can be installed in India. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper empirically examined the causality between electricity consumption and economic growth in two densely populated countries in South Asia, India and Pakistan. The causality analysis was estimated at aggregated and disaggregated level where the focus of the analysis was on the agricultural sector. The disaggregated causality analysis indicated a bi-directional causality between the agricultural electricity consumption and the agricultural GDP in India, while in Pakistan the causality was found to run from agricultural GDP to agricultural electricity consumption. At the aggregated level, India confirmed conservation hypothesis while Pakistan confirmed feedback hypothesis. From the public policy point of view, it can be inferred that, at the macro level, any electricity conservation measures in India will not have an affect on India's increasing economic growth prospects and hence a policy-favourite supply-enhancement strategy in the form of increasing electricity generation needs to be balanced with a demand-management strategy. In case of Pakistan any such policy recommendation is difficult given the bidirectional nature of causality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Sensitivity analysis is a technique that evaluates the model response to changes in input assumptions. Due to uncertain prices of primary fuels in the world market, Government regulations for sustainability and various other technical parameters there is a need to analyze the techno-economic parameters which play an important role in policy formulations. This paper examines the variations in technical as well as economic parameters that can mostly affect the energy policy of India. MARKAL energy simulation model has been used to analyze the uncertainty in all techno-economic parameters. Various ranges of input parameters are adopted from previous studies. The results show that at lower discount rate coal is the least preferred technology and correspondingly carbon emission reduction. With increased gas and nuclear fuel prices they disappear from the allocations of energy mix. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: India is facing great challenges in its economic development due to the impact on climate change. Energy is the important driver of economy. At present Indian energy sector is dominated by fossil fuel. Due to international pressure for green house gas reduction in atmosphere there is a need of clean energy supply for energy security and sustainable development. The nuclear energy is a sustainable solution in this context to overcome the environmental problem due to fossil fuel electricity generation. This paper examines the implications of penetration of nuclear energy in Indian power sector. Four scenarios, including base case scenario, have been developed using MARKAL energy modeling software for Indian power sector. The least-cost solution of energy mix has been measured. The result shows that more than 50% of the electricity market will be captured by nuclear energy in the year 2045. This ambitious goal can be expected to be achieved due to Indo-US nuclear deal. The advanced nuclear energy with conservation potential scenario shows that huge amounts of CO2 can be reduced in the year 2045 with respect to the business as usual scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CO 2 emissions are more sensitive towards upside shocks in in per capita income and FDI than downside shocks. • The upside shocks in coal-fired electricity have significantly increased the pollution level. • Coal-fired and oil-fired electricity generation appears to be significant substitute for each other. • The association between CO 2 emissions and the selected variables has remained nonlinear during the study period. Building upon the present growth paradigm of India, the authors of this paper examined the impact of coal-fired and oil-fired electrical power generation on CO 2 emissions in India for the period of 1976−2016. The simulation results confirmed that the upside shocks in coal-fired electricity will contribute considerably to increase the pollution level in the long run. Contrarily, the impact of downside variations was found to be negative and significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]