In these columns last fortnight (To end oil dependency, shift 100% to EV road transport; June 1), I urged that, within 10 years, all motor vehicles sold in India should only be EVs. The current consumption of 180 billion litres of diesel and petrol, if unchecked, will double in 20 years. If we switch over to 100% EVs in a decade, as diesel and petrol vehicles are phased out, we would be substituting potentially 300 million tonnes of crude oil per year, equivalent to $280 billion at current prices. This transition is an entirely pragmatic and achievable target. We can scale up production capacity of solar modules and cells to meet our needs. In order to scale up solar power generation and battery storage capacity, we may have to resort to a one-time import of components over the next 5-10 years. That import bill will still be a small fraction of our oil imports. We should accelerate this energy transition on a war footing.

There is another neglected area of energy transition. Our dependence on coal and oil is a unique and short-lived phase of human history. Eventually, we will run out of coal, oil, and gas. The future lies in applying nature's power of harnessing the Sun's energy through photosynthesis and converting biomass into fungible energy. Now humanity has the technology and the resources to harness the Sun's energy directly. Through solar power generation and storage batteries we are closer than ever to the dream of sustainable,........

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