The amended bill aims to bring large residential buildings under the Energy Conservation regime, enhance the scope of the Energy Conservation Building Code, and amend penalty provisions
Union Minister RK Singh during the discussion on the Energy Conservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha. Screengrab from Sansad TV_ The Rajya Sabha passed the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill December 12, 2022, to mandate non-fossil sources of energy and establish a domestic carbon market in India.
This comes after the Lok Sabha passed the amended bill in August 2022. The bill was also amended in 2010.
“The passage of Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 in Rajya Sabha today paves the way to enhanced use of renewable energy,” RK Singh, Union minister of power and new & renewable energy, wrote on microblogging website Twitter.
He added that the country is relentlessly marching towards its target of reducing India's carbon intensity by 45 per cent by 2030. This goal is a part of India’s updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).
There are two constituents of non-fossil sources: one is renewable energy (solar, wind, hydropower and biomass), and the other is nuclear energy,” Singh said during the proceedings.
Non-fossil sources, including green hydrogen, green ammonia, biomass and ethanol are for energy and feedstock.
On December 8, Jitendra Singh, minister of state for earth sciences, spoke about the progress in the construction of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant Units.
Of the projected installed capacity of 6,000 Megawatt (MW), the first two units are up and running. The remaining four units are under construction, the minister clarified.
According to Global Energy Monitor, the government will issue carbon credits to businesses or other institutions interested in the scheme. It added that industries could sell and buy credits to meet their carbon budget.
Carbon credits will not be sold to other countries, Singh said. When we sell credits to other countries, we cannot add them to our NDCs. However, he added that there is a provision to sell them to other countries when there is a surplus or a need to finance some cutting-edge technology.
The amended bill aims to bring large residential buildings under the Energy Conservation regime, enhance the scope of the Energy Conservation Building Code, and amend penalty provisions.
It also applies to commercial buildings with a connected load of 100 Kilowatt or contracts demand of 120 Kilo-volt Ampere and above.
According to the draft, “energy conservation building codes” means the norms and standards of energy consumption expressed per square metre of the area where energy is used. It also includes the location of the building.
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