Pathways for Kerala’s Clean Energy Transition
Although Kerala aspires to meet 100 percent of its energy requirements through renewable energy by 2040 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the state continues to rely significantly on electricity generated from thermal power plants located outside Kerala. This issue brief explores distinct pathways that the state can consider to achieve the renewable energy target by harnessing the available renewable energy potential within the state along with renewable energy contracts.
This issue brief examines the implications of Kerala’s ambition to achieve 100% renewable energy-based state by 2040. Kerala currently imports nearly 70% of its electricity, with thermal sources continuing to play a major role, while wind and solar account for a relatively small share of electricity generation. Different scenario based analysis indicates that the current pace of RE addition will not be sufficient to achieve the 2040 ambition. Even with accelerated adoption of solar and wind energy, significant thermal dependence could remain. An exploratory zero-thermal pathway has also explored, it suggests that Kerala could require at least 27 GW of renewable capacity along with 3.4 GW of hydroelectricity by 2040, involving substantial investment. The report emphasizes the importance of accelerated domestic RE deployment, renewable power procurement from outside Kerala, storage and grid strengthening, and improved resource-adequacy planning.
