India surpasses Japan as 3rd largest solar generator
Rapid solar energy deployment in India pushed the country past Japan to become the world’s third-largest solar power generator in 2023, according to a new report.
The report by global energy think tank Ember said solar produced a record 5.5 per cent of global electricity in 2023. In line with the global trend, India generated 5.8 per cent of its electricity from solar last year.
RENEWABLES SHARE UP
Strong growth in wind and solar drove the share of renewables in the global electricity mix above 30 per cent and total clean generation (nuclear included) to almost 40 per cent, as reported in Ember’s “Global Electricity Review”. As a result, the carbon intensity of the world’s electricity reached a new record low, 12 per cent lower than its peak in 2007.
Ember said renewable generation growth could have been even higher in 2023, but hydropower generation reached a five-year low amid droughts in China and other parts of the world.
Ember’s Asia Programme director Aditya Lolla said, “Increasing clean electricity is not just for reducing carbon emissions in the power sector.
It is also needed to meet the rising electricity demand in an increasingly electrified economy and to decouple economic growth from emissions, which is crucial for tackling climate change.” Solar maintained its status as the world’s fastest-growing electricity source for the 19th consecutive year, adding more than twice as much new electricity worldwide as coal in 2023.
India saw the world’s fourth-largest increase in solar generation in 2023 (+18 terawatt hour or TWh), behind China (+156 TWh), the United States (+33 TWh) and Brazil (+22 TWh). Together, the top four solar growth countries accounted for 75 per cent of growth in 2023.
Ember said the global solar generation in 2023 was more than six times larger than in 2015.
Solar’s contribution to electricity generation in India increased from 0.5 per cent in 2015 to 5.8 per cent in 2023.
According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) “Net Zero Emissions” scenario, solar would increase to 22 per cent of global electricity generation by 2030.
With electricity generation accounting for nearly half of India’s annual carbon dioxide emissions (1.18 gigatonnes in 2023), accelerating the transition to cleaner generation sources is imperative for the country to meet both its developmental and climate goals.
As part of its national plan to fight climate change, India has committed to achieving 50 per cent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.
Air India Express has been facing major disruptions. Over 90 international and domestic flights were grounded due to a mass “sick leave” by senior cabin crew. The situation began to unfold on Monday evening as many crew members called in sick. With insufficient sta to operate flights, the airline had to cancel “scores of flights” at airports like Kochi, Calicut, and Bangalore.
Air India Express acknowledged unexpected flight delays and cancellations due to “a section of our cabin crew reporting sick at the last minute.” It said, “We apologize for the inconvenience and emphasise “that this situation does not reflect the standard of service we strive to provide.”
However, businessline has learned that this comes after the Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU), representing a portion of the cabin crew, addressed a letter to Air India Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran. The letter outlined employee concerns and highlighted anxieties surrounding Tata’s recent acquisition of Air India Express.
AIXEU expressed their disappointment with the Tata Group acquisition.
THE LETTER
They pointed out a disconnect between “Tata’s values of equality, integrity, transparency and mutual respect, as outlined in the TATA Code of Conduct (TOOC) “and the reality faced by employees. The letter, written on April 26, detailed concerns like terminations despite assurances of “job security”.
The AIXEU also said their voice was being silenced, stating “the concept of a whistleblower, emphasised in the TCOC seems to be onesided... Air India Express Employees find themselves silenced when attempting to address grievances.” They asked Chandrasekaran to intervene and “redress our grievances which will help in maintaining peace and harmony in the company.”
According to sources, the regional labour commissioner wrote a stern letter to the management of Air India Express. businessline has reviewed a copy of the email.
It said, “The concerns of the Union are genuine. The management of Air India Express has not sent any responsible decision-makers to any of the conciliation proceedings. Mismanagement and blatant violations of labour laws were apparent. The HR department tried to mislead the conciliation ocer with the wrong information and an idiotic interpretation of legal provisions.” It further added, “I suggest you send a high-level committee to inquire into the grievances of the employees and the functioning of the HR department and take corrective measures at the earliest to maintain harmonious industrial relations.”
Meanwhile, the regional labour commissioner will seek inputs from aviation regulator DGCA in the ongoing conciliation process concerning the dispute between Air India Express management and a section of the cabin crew members, according to a source.
Aloke Singh, CEO, AIX, stated that the airline will curtail ops for the next few days. “Since last evening, over 100 of our cabin crew colleagues have reported sick before their rostered flight duty, at the last minute, severely disrupting our operations. Because this action was mostly by colleagues assigned L1 role, the impact was disproportionate, disrupting 90+ flights even though other colleagues reported for duty,” the CEO said in a statement.
“The disruptions have cascaded across the network, forcing us to curtail the schedules over the next few days. We had to do this to cope with the non-availability of crew and to recover schedules,” he added.
STAFFING ISSUES
This incident follows similar challenges at another Tata airline, Vistara. In April, Vistara faced a pilot shortage that forced them to cut flights by 10 per cent, or roughly 25-30 daily cancellations. These stang issues come amidst Tata’s consolidation eorts within the airline industry. The group plans to merge Air India Express and AIX Connect
(formerly AirAsia India) with Vistara and Air India itself. This merger process, particularly the AIX connect integration, has coincided with growing discontent among cabin crew members.
Meanwhile, Kerala Opposition leader V D Satheesan wrote to the Aviation Minister expressing outrage over Air India Express cancelling flights from Kerala. He called the cancellations “unjustified” and said hundreds of passengers, including families with children, were stranded at airports.
Passengers “learned about the decision after they arrived at the airport,” Satheesan wrote and many risked losing their jobs by not being able to return to the Middle East on time. He criticised Air India for not providing “food or accommodation” to the stranded passengers and urged the Minister to intervene and “provide alternative arrangements.”
FIRM STANCE
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) took a firm stance in response to the spate of Air India Express flight cancellations. They demanded a detailed report from the airline, outlining the reasons behind the disruptions. MoCA emphasised the situation’s urgency and called for a prompt resolution to minimise passenger inconvenience. Furthermore, they reminded Air India Express of their obligation to adhere to the passenger care regulations established by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). These regulations ensure that passengers are treated fairly and receive proper assistance during flight cancellations or delays.
The airline said guests impacted by cancellations will be oered “a full refund or complimentary rescheduling to another date.” Passengers are advised to “check if their flight is aected” before heading to the airport.
(with inputs from V Sajeev Kumar)