Skilled work force a must to make India greener

Tata Power has lined up plans to impart training to 3,000 youths this fiscal in the field of renewable energy industry. Tata power will do it through its arm-Tata Power Skill Development Institute (TPSDI), which has so far trained 1.4 lakh people across all its courses both in conventional and renewable energy technology. The institute has planned to train around 3,000 youth in green energy jobs in FY23 and will scale up the numbers around 5,000 by 2025. This apparently may be a small development of an individual company giving training to few thousands youth in a particular stream or area, but it can actually have a far reaching impact.

One must remember that the Government of India had launched National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) way back on June 30, 2008, outlining eight national missions on climate change. These include: National solar mission, national mission for enhanced energy efficiency, national mission on sustainable habitat, national water mission, national mission for sustaining the Himalayan ecosystem, national mission for a green India, national mission for sustainable agriculture and national mission on strategic knowledge for climate change.

Indian policy makers must remember that India is too large as a country to adopt strategies based on global averages of climate change. And the consequences of climate change on the social systems are expected to vary in different regions of the world on account of several regional and other local factors. Therefore different modelling studies, adaptation strategies and technology systems would be required in differing geographical and social contexts. Further, there are many uncertainties in disaggregating the effects of global warming on different agro climatic regions due to still inadequate scientific understanding of the processes involved in the climate change. This would require developing a strong capability in basic and applied research in climate science by strengthening observational and modelling tools and systems.

It does not take any rocket science to understand that if India is to accomplish its green mission or even go closer to it, the country needs a large pool of well trained and skilled work force. And what Tata Power has started is just the beginning or a baby step in a long journey.

TPSDI, a state-of-the-art skill enhancement institute in the power sector, is expanding its training initiatives to equip youth with skills for green energy jobs. TPSDI is rolling out skill development courses in solar photovoltaic for electric vehicle charging, installation and maintenance of rooftop solar photovoltaic, installation of smart meters, and home automation to promote smart and efficient energy related expertise across its six training centers in India at Shahad, Trombay and Vidyavihar in Mumbai; Maithon – Dhanbad; Mundra – Kutch; and Jojobera – Jamshedpur.

The development has come up at a time when India is making significant strides toward achieving its clean energy goals and creating a 500 GW renewable energy portfolio by 2030. The Indian power industry is about to undergo a green transformation. TPSDI initiative aims at enabling an ecosystem that includes focused training for youth in green and smart energy technologies like roof top solar, EV charging, home automation, battery storage and smart metering. Going forward, the institute also plans to introduce courses in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and energy consulting. If Tata Power comes forward can other power companies be far behind?