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India Aims To Become 100% Electric Vehicle Nation By 2030 (ndtv.com)

Posted by msmash on from the forward-thinking dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report on NDTV: The Indian government is working on a scheme to provide electric cars on zero down payment for which people can pay out of their savings on expensive fossil fuels, for becoming 100% electric vehicle nation by 2030. "India can become the first country of its size which will run 100 per cent of electric vehicles. We are trying to make this program self-financing," said Piyush Goyal, Power Minister. That's forward thinking. However, it's not clear whether the Indian government is also committing to 100% renewable energy -- because if the electricity comes from coal, it might not help with curtailing the pollution level.

3 of 150 comments (clear)

  1. Well okay by Slugster · · Score: 1, Insightful

    "We know electric vehicles cost much and many people are poor, but we will pass laws to make them be rich"

  2. Coal can be replaced easier than gas engines by JeffTL · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Coal power might not be much cleaner than internal combustion engines in the long run (though possibly more efficient due to economies of scale), but it's easier N faster to replace a power plant as better generation technologies become available or economically feasible than to replace everyone's car. Once the cars are electric, they automatically benefit from any changes in how the electricity is made without any action or investment by the end user.

    1. Re:Coal can be replaced easier than gas engines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "India's National Solar Mission was approved "in principal" last week by the Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change.
      The solar mega-project, aimed at expanding India's solar capacity from the current 3 megawatts (MW) to a reported 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2020 and 200 GW by 2050, will form the centerpiece of a National Climate Change Strategy and cost an estimated US$20 billion to implement.

      They are not looking to bring more coal online. In fact, this plan is being coupled with solar power generation and wind power generation.

      With worldwide installed solar-generation capacity totalling just 16.5 GW, and India's power generation capacity at 150 GW, the plan is notable for its scale and ambition."

      http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6220

      Couple that plan which the U.S. wants a piece of resulting in action at the WTO, blocking local procurement restrictions. We are talking about a government which is serious about the scale of what it wants done.

      And they are well on the way to doing it, see:
      http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/india--72-gw-of-utility-scale-solar-plausible-in-fy-2016-17_100022729/