SOLAR POWER SAVES INDIA BILLIONS IN FUEL COSTS IN HALF A YEAR

Any advance and change to more renewable energy is worth celebrating, especially when that change has been made in a developing economy and a country that has historically dealt with dangerous levels of pollution. 

India has saved $4.2 billion in fuel costs from January to June 2022, thanks to solar power alone. On top of of that, they also avoided the use 19.4 million tonnes of coal. 

Ember, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA),  jointly published the report, where they also analysed the growth of solar power over the last decade. They made the discovery that five Asian countries are among the top 10 solar powered economies globally, when only two were in the top 10 a decade ago.

Together seven nations in the region—China, India, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand, has saved potential fossil fuel costs of approximately $34 billion, equivalent to 9% of total fossil fuel costs during this period. 

“Asian countries have shown that rapid solar deployment is possible, setting a remarkable example and providing valuable lessons learned for their peers in the region,” said Dr. Achmed Shahram Edianto, Ember’s Asia Electricity Analyst. “As the prices of solar and storage plummet, and the potential cost savings have started to materialise, solar dominance in Asia now looks to come much sooner than previously expected.”