Over Rs 1.32 Lakh Crore Invested in India’s Renewable Sector Since 2017-18

India’s renewable energy sector has seen a total investment of Rs 1.32 lakh crore between FY2017-18 and the current fiscal year

India’s renewable energy sector has seen a total investment of Rs 1.32 lakh crore (Rs 132625.89 crore) between the financial year 2017-18 and the current fiscal (until December 31, 2019), Union Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy, RK Singh has said.

Answering a question raised in the Rajya Sabha, Singh said that the country has set a target of installing 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2022. And that as of January 1, 2020, the country has installed 85.90 GW of Renewable Energy (RE) capacity which constitutes 23 percent of total installed power generation capacity in the country.”

The year-wise breakup of the financial figures issued by the ministry shows that 2017-18, with 11886.64 MW of renewable energy capacity additions, saw the maximum investments over a single fiscal year with a total of Rs 55436.41 crore invested in the sector.

The minister had previously said that the steps being taken by the Government to boost the investment in the sector in the country included:

• Permitting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 100 percent under the automatic route, strengthening of Power Purchase Agreements(PPAs),
• Mandating requirement of Letter of Credit(LC) as payment security mechanism by distribution licensees for ensuring timely payments to RE generators,
• Setting up of Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Parks to provide land and transmission on a plug and play basis to investors,
• Waiver of Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) charges and losses for inter-state sale of solar and wind power for projects to be commissioned by December 31, 2022,
• Notification of standard bidding guidelines to enable Discoms to procure solar and wind power at competitive rates in a cost-effective manner,
• declaration of trajectory for Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) up to the year 2022,
• Laying of transmission lines under Green Energy Corridor Scheme for the evacuation of Power in Renewable rich states,
• Finalisation of manufacturing linked tender for setting up domestic manufacturing capacity, launching of new schemes, such as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM), Solar Rooftop Phase II, 12000 MW CPSU Scheme Phase II, etc.

Answering another question, the minister informed that “as per the report ‘Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2019’ by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the total employment in the renewable energy sector in India in 2018 was 719,000 jobs. IRENA estimated the employment in solar PV as 115,000 jobs (grid-connected), wind energy sector 58,000 jobs and in hydropower sector 347,000 jobs.”

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