Banks pledge $386 billion to support India’s renewable energy industry

Financial institutions have pledged a total of $386 billion in investment commitments to help India develop its renewable energy industry, Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Monday.

India aims to have an installed renewable energy capacity of 500 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, up from about 153 GW of capacity today.

The country will need to install at least 44 GW of clean energy capacity each year by the end of the decade to meet the 500 GW target, according to Bloomberg estimates based on data from India’s Ministry of Power.

“We have received overwhelming commitments from States and Union Territories, as well as developers, manufacturers and financial institutions to support our target of 500 GW by 2030,” Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi said at the annual investor meeting in renewable energy and Expo. , as reported by Reuters.

Indian conglomerates Reliance Industries and Adani are among the companies that have pledged additional renewable energy capacity. Reliance has committed 100 GW of additional renewable capacity and Adani Green Energy has committed to develop 38.8 GW of capacity.

The growing economy and increasing demand for electricity are boosting estimates for India’s long-term energy needs.

India’s electricity demand is expected to grow by 7% in 2023, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its Electricity 2024 report earlier this year.

The country will see growth of more than 6 percent on average annually until 2026, supported by strong economic activity and expanding ownership of air conditioners, according to the Paris-based agency.

“Over the next three years, India will add electricity demand roughly equivalent to the UK’s current consumption. While renewables will meet nearly half of this demand growth, a third is expected to come from increased coal-fired generation,” the IEA noted.

Despite the renewables push, India plans to increase domestic coal production and reduce imports, Coal and Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy said in June 2024.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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