Centre to bring green hydrogen under RPO

Green hydrogen would be brought under renewable purchase obligation (RPO), Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh said on Tuesday. Under RPO, bulk purchasers like discoms, open access consumers and captive users are required to buy a certain proportion of renewable energy out of their total consumption of electricity. They can also buy RE certificates from renewable energy producers to meet the RPO norms.

Interacting with media in a virtual curtain raiser press conference on 'India's role as a Global Champion for the Energy Transition theme at the UN High Level Dialogue on Energy 2021', Singh said the RPO for green hydrogen which can also be called hydrogen purchase obligation for States would ensure that products sells. "We are going to include green hydrogen in RPO." Green hydrogen is produced using renewable energy and electrolysis to split water and is distinct from grey hydrogen, which is produced from methane and releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and blue hydrogen, which captures those emissions and stores them underground to prevent them causing climate change.

The minister also expressed dismay over under-achievement of RPO targets by States. "Most States have not achieved their RPO. In 2030, total installed power generation capacity of the country would be 821 GW including 450 GW of renewables. (So RPO is required to be met by States)," the minister said.