Sustainability must be at forefront of energy transition: ReNew Power chief

Energy security may be driving the transition towards new sources at present in the developed world, but sustainability should be the key factor in the longer run, Indian renewables major ReNew Power's chief Sumant Sinha said on Thursday.

Speaking at a session on 'Different roads to energy transition', he also said the energy transition began quite early in India and the process has got a huge leg up now.

"Every country has a different way of looking at energy transition. For developing countries, it is about cost, while for developed ones, it is more about energy security," he said.

In the short run, people are more focussed on security, but in the longer run, it has to be about sustainability, he noted.

"I'm sure that sustainability will come to the forefront in the longer term as people have not forgotten that aspect," Sinha said.

Noting that energy transition in India began quite early, Sinha said the efforts got a further boost when solar power became much cheaper while wind price also came down significantly.

The government has now upped the target for renewables, partly also due to rising demand, he added.

"It started with ambition, then it got a boost for prices getting cheaper and now demand, sustainability and several other factors are driving the transition in India," he said.