India needs an investment of USD 400 billion to hit the ambitious target of 500 GW Of Renewables by 2030 and when we talk about investment it's largely a private sector investment in transmission, renewables projects or any other ecosystem of manufacturing said Bhupinder S. Bhalla, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy on Thursday.
While speaking at the first International Solar Festival 2024, organised by the International Solar Alliance(ISA) he said, “When we calculated our total investment need for India we estimate that we will need about 30 lakh crore or USD 400 billion for reaching 500 gigawatt capacity and most of it is going to come from private sector. So it’s important to create that ecosystem which allows the private sector to get funding to implement commercially based projects.”
He added that in regions with significant energy access deficits, the financial risks are high, leading to increased project costs. To bridge the gap between consumer affordability and supplier viability, we must implement innovative risk mitigation agents and provide concessional financing.
The government official said, another critical challenge in energy access deficit regions is the lack of technical and financial expertise needed to drive electrification efforts. “We must invest in skill development, access to global best practices and programs that support sectoral entrepreneurs. Training, capacity building and awareness creation are vital for long-term progress. Solar energy is not only contributing to large-scale energy generation, but is also empowering rural communities with clean energy solutions,” he said.
“To achieve universal energy access we estimate that a total investment of about more than USD 190 billion would be required. This includes about 97 billion for solar-based mini-grids, USD 18 billion for decentralised energy solutions, and about USD 78 billion for the necessary grid extensions to make this possible,” said the government official while emphasising on the importance of financing.
Additionally, to ensure the viability of these projects, financial support of around USD 48 billion will be necessary to raise the funding gap.
