India, IRENA partner for RE, green hydrogen push

The two will collaborate to assess the role of green hydrogen in India’s energy transition.

India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) entered a strategic partnership agreement to collaborate for India’s initiatives for renewable energy and green hydrogen.

Under the partnership, IRENA will lead knowledge sharing from India on scaling-up renewable energy and clean energy technologies.

It will also support India’s initiatives for a cost-effective decarbonisation through green hydrogen development domestically, according to the agency.

“The two will work closely to assess the potential role green hydrogen can play both as an enabler of the transition in India and as a new source of national energy exports,” IRENA said, noting India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission which aimed to “enable cost competitive green hydrogen production, storage, distribution, and application technologies.”

IRENA also said that India is also planning to significantly develop its offshore wind.

India has installed 13 gigawatts (GW) of renewables in 2021, increasing its capacity by over 53 GW in the last five years, according to the agency, making the country one of the fastest growing renewable adopters worldwide.

“India’s commitment for the cause of renewables is very well known and our record speaks for itself,” MNRE Secretary Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi said. “We hope to make full use of the strategic partnership agreement and draw fully upon the expertise of IRENA in the area of renewable energy.”