February 11, 2020
India is setting up Ultra Mega RE Projects for providing land, transmission on plug and play basis
India has attracted US$100 billion in renewable investment, another US$14 billion is in process
India requires about US$65 billion in additional investment to help the sector reach its potential
The nation is now planning to set up 500 GW of renewable energy generation capacity by 2030
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) on February 11 launched an Industry and Investors’ Facilitation Centre to encourage activity in the industry. The platform will provide relevant and timely information related to the Government’s policies and programmes for the renewable energy sector. It will also resolve the issues of renewable energy investors and industry in the country. The move comes amid the nation’s efforts to increase the share of renewable energy in the total power mix to 40 per cent by 2030. Herein, the new facilitation centre will work as a fast track mechanism in resolving the investors’ issues and improving the ease of doing business (EODB) in the renewable energy sector.
This explains India’s progression in the World Bank’s annual EoDB ranking, in which it has jumped 79 positions on the list over the last six years to the 63rd spot. India has already installed a renewable energy capacity of 86 GW while 34 GW is under implementation and another 30 GW is at various stages of tendering. Meanwhile, the Government is setting up Ultra Mega RE Power Projects for providing land and transmission on a plug and play basis. Additionally, power purchase agreements (PPAs) and letter of credit measures for payment security mechanism are also being strengthened to allow new projects. The platform is critical as India’s renewable energy sector is largely supported by private investment.
India has so far attracted about US$100 billion in renewable investment and another US$14 billion is in the process. India requires about US$65 billion in additional investment to help the renewable sector achieve its full potential. India has added a renewable energy capacity of 7.6 GW in 2019-20 (up to Dec 2019) and is currently ahead of its target of setting up an additional renewable energy capacity of 175 GW by 2022. The nation is now planning to set up 500 GW of renewable energy generation capacity by 2030. Renewable energy is pivotal to rapid urbanisation and industrialisation in India and is key to the Government’s target of building a US$5 trillion economy by 2024. Hence the emphasis on investment.