The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act has been enacted with the objective of improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon dioxide emissions to ensure energy security and to have a sustainable economy.
The amendment in the energy conservation act, 2001 entails a number of actions that businesses can take in order to comply with it. This blog post provides answers to the many questions that businesses have regarding their compliance with the act.
Key feat of energy requirement through renewable energy by 2030.
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The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act has been enacted with the objective of improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon dioxide emissions to ensure energy security and to have a sustainable economy.
The amendment in the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 entails a number of actions that businesses can take in order to comply with it. This blog post provides answers to the many questions that businesses have regarding their compliance with the act.
Key features:
- Amends the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
- Provides a legal framework for the energy transition.
- Includes sustainability aspects.
- Obligation to use non-fossil sources of energy.
The Target of the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022 is to achieve the following:
- Installation of 500 gigawatts of energy capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030.
- Fulfilling 50% of energy requirement through renewable energy by 2030.
- Reduction in the emissions intensity of the GDP by 45% over 2005 levels by 2030.
- Creation of additional carbon sink of 3 bn tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030.
- Achieving the target of net zero emissions by 2070.
Carbon Credit Scheme
The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act aims to cap big consumers’ carbon emissions and consumption by instituting a carbon credit scheme. These big consumers of energy will be required to meet a specific percentage of their energy needs by using renewable energy sources. The overachievers will be rewarded with carbon credit and those who failed to achieve will be penalized or have to buy carbon credits.
Through the carbon credit scheme, the companies who comply with the scheme will be issued carbon credit certificates by the government or authorized agencies. Carbon credit certificates can also be bought on a voluntary basis and these certificates will be tradable.
Building Sector
In the building sector, the provision for including residential and office, and other commercial buildings (with a minimum connected load of 100 kilowatts or contract demand of 120KVA or more power) in the ambit of the energy conservation act. Such buildings must be using renewable energy sources. The aim is to come up with efficient designs, and efficient appliances, and the occupant will experience comfort with much lesser electricity and energy cost.
The act also includes the empowerment of the central government to specify the norms for the use of non-fossil fuels for energy.
The next step
The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022 seeks to promote energy efficiency and conservation in the country. The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act is expected to ensure that our energy consumption is more efficient, sustainable, and affordable with a reduction in carbon emissions.
The new act mandates businesses to engage with climate, sustainability, and energy management services. These services include consulting services for companies to understand their impact on climate and comply with the act, as well as consulting services for companies to develop an energy management plan that will help them reduce their carbon footprint and encourage efficient energy use.
Companies should also engage with the environmental services sector, which includes carbon footprint calculation, greenhouse gas emission accounting and verification, Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR), energy auditing services, power quality audit, green energy audit, ESG framework, environment audit, waste management consultants and other similar services. At Wire Consultancy, we provide Engineering, Risk Management, EHS & Sustainability solutions, and support for companies in order to comply with the new requirements under this act.
Conclusion
To sum up, our analysis has made one thing clear: there is a big responsibility on the part of organizations to practice sustainable development. All the business operations have to be carried out in an eco-friendly way and conservation of energy has to be ensured at every step of operations. With the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, many businesses that were previously not required to meet efficiency standards must adhere to these new rules to comply with the act and explore further business opportunities. We hope that this blog helps you understand the importance and what you need to do to comply with the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022.