Recently,Nature Communications published the joint research of Professor Lu Tianguang from School of Electrical Engineering, Harvard University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and Tsinghua University, titled “India’s potential for integrating solar and on-and offshore wind power into its energy system”.Professor Lu Tianguang is the first author.

India has become the world's third-largest carbon dioxide emitter. At the same time, India’s electricity load is growing rapidly, which is expected to reach five times the current power generation by 2047. However, India’s renewable energy power generation accounts for less than 7.6% of the total power generation, and coal-fired power plants emitting carbon dioxide dominate. This situation will continue for a long time and is not conducive to the low-carbon operation of the energy system in India.

The research showed the latest analyses of India’s renewable potential (wind, solar) that is integrated into the energy system. The research suggested that India has an extremely rich renewable resources and its energy system has great potential to achieve an operation based on high proportion of renewable energy. A high-resolution power system planning-and-operation co-simulation model is used to build a low-carbon power system construction scenario in India in 2040. Results from the power supply structure and grid planning of the five regions of India's low-carbon power system indicate that there will be a great opportunity for low-carbon operation of the energy system in 2040. The research results provide an important theoretical reference for promoting the development of India's energy system towards decarbonization and the energy transition of other countries.

Written by：Lu Tianguang

Translated by：Wang Shaorui