Macro-economic impacts of renewable energy transition in India: An input-output LCA approach

Abstract

India's higher emphasis on Renewable Energy adoption is aligned with the twin Sustainable Development Goals of tackling climate change (Goal 13) and ensuring sustainable, affordable, reliable energy for all (Goal 7). This study intends to evaluate the macroeconomic impact of India's ambitious 280 GW solar and 140 GW wind capacity expansion programme by 2030 using an Input-Output framework. The economic implications of solid waste generation and waste abatement in the End-of-life phase are evaluated. The solar and wind energy's economy-wide contribution is minimal; however, the solid waste generation is significant, ranging between 7.1–24 thousand tonnes of PV waste and 14.2–48.3 million tonnes of wind turbine waste in different solar and wind capacity mix. The solid waste abatement cost which constitutes the treatment of materials is aimed towards the attainment of the 3R strategy. The Green-GDP estimate by accounting for the net-environmental and health burden of solar and wind energy mix and the material waste generation witnesses 0.9 % to 1.52 % increase in net loss to GDP in different scenarios. The substantial emission savings of 11–23 % from the transition towards solar and wind energy can serve as a catalyst in helping India achieve its decarbonization targets.