New Delhi: In order to focus on clean energy, the Energy Transition Advisory Committee, a panel formed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, on Monday suggested that India should ban the use of diesel-powered four-wheeler vehicles by 2027 and shift to electric and gas-fuelled vehicles in cities with more than a million people and polluted towns.
India, one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, wants to produce 40% of its electricity from renewables to achieve its 2070 net zero goal.
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Saturday 28 Sept. 2024
The panel headed by former Oil Secretary Tarun Kapoor further added that no diesel-operated buses should be added from 2024 onwards. “By 2030, no city buses should be added which are not electric…diesel buses for city transport should not be added from 2024 onwards,” the panel said in a report posted on the Oil Ministry’s website.
It also added that long-distance buses should be powered by electricity for a longer period of time and gas can be utilised in the form of transition fuel for the next 10-15 years. India, one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, wants to produce 40 per cent of its electricity from renewables to achieve its 2070 net zero goal. Diesel accounts for about two-fifths of refined fuel consumption in India with 80 per cent of that being used in the transport sector.
The panel also suggested that India should think about creating underground gas storage, which fulfils two months’ demand as it is said to increase at a compound average growth rate of 9.78% between 2020 and 2050. It also recommended the use of depleted oil and gas fields, salt caverns and aquifers for gas storage with the participation of foreign gas-producing companies.
To boost electric vehicle use in the country, the report said the government should consider “targeted extension” of incentives given under Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles scheme (FAME) to beyond March 31.
The panels said new registrations of only electric-powered city delivery vehicles should be allowed from 2024 and suggested for higher use of railways and gas-powered trucks for the movement of cargo. The railway network is expected to be fully electric in two to three years.
Long-distance buses in India will have to be powered by electricity in the long-term, it said, adding that gas can be used as a transition fuel for 10-15 years.
