Nearly Rs 12,000 Crore Spent on RE Projects Over Last 3 Fiscals: RK Singh

RK Singh has confirmed that nearly Rs 12,000 crore has been utilised for the development of RE projects in the country between 2017-18 and 2019-20.

Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy RK Singh has confirmed that nearly Rs 12,000 crore (Rs 11,787.69 crore) has been utilised for the development of renewable energy (RE) projects in the country over the last three fiscal years i.e. 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20.

In a written response to a question raised in the upper house of the parliament, the minister said that “the Government has set a target of installing 175 GW renewable energy capacity in the country by 2022. As against this target, a cumulative renewable energy capacity of 88.79 GW has been installed in the country upto August 2020.”

The minister also provided details of the amount of funds allocated and utilised for the development of RE projects during the last three fiscals.

According to the data provided, the centre has allocated Rs 4080 crore in 17-18, Rs 5146.63 crore in 18-19 and Rs 3891.74 crore in 19-20 for a total of Rs 13,118.37 crore over the three years. And, of that, Rs 3768.73 crore has been utilised in 17-18, Rs 4476.20 crore in 18-19, and finally 3542.76 crore in 19-20 for the total of Rs 11787.69 crore.

The minister also revealed that renewable energy generation in the country increased from 101839.48 Million Units in 2017-18 to 138318.66 MUs in 19-20. An increase of 36479.18 MUs in the three-year period.

Answering another question, the minister said that most of the grid-connected renewable energy projects in the country are being implemented by the private sector developers selected through a transparent competitive bidding process.

And that the initiatives taken by the Government to encourage investment in the country in the field of renewable energy, have supplemented the increased investments

The initiatives include:

• Permitting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 100 percent under the automatic route,

• mandating requirement of Letter of Credit (LC) as payment security mechanism by distribution licensees for ensuring timely payments to RE generators,

• setting of Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Parks to provide land and transmission on plug and play basis,

• 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 30th June 2023,

• notification of standard bidding guidelines to enable distribution licensee to procure solar and wind power at competitive rates,

• 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 areas,

• setting up of Project Development Cell for attracting and facilitating investments in domestic manufacturing

• Loan limits for renewable energy have been increased (doubled) in RBI’s revised priority sector lending guidelines.