India plans to more than double the share of renewables in the mix of fuels it consumes, an effort to reduce the dominance of coal.
Renewables such as solar and wind may account for 15 per cent of India’s energy supply in the next five years, up from 6 per cent currently, said Piyush Goyal, a government minister in charge of power, said at a conference in New Delhi.
“While coal will continue to dominate our energy mix for sometime, we are taking steps to protect the environment,” Goyal said today. “Neither India nor the world has the luxury of time when it comes to protection of the environment.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to speed up clean energy deployment in India as it tries to attract more than $100 billion of investment for the industry in the next four years. At present, coal generates 60 per cent electricity in a nation that suffers from chronic blackouts.
The minister reiterated his previously stated view that renewables can’t count on government subsidies for too long. He said the industry should focus on convincing banks to make funding for projects as easily available as loans for cars.
Modi’s administration reintroduced a tax break for the wind industry earlier this year. Goyal said he hopes those will help turbine installers add 8 gigawatts of capacity every year, a level that would make India one of the biggest wind markets in the world.
India plans to require power purchasers and generators to include renewable energy in their suppliers and will penalise those that don’t, he said.
India will host a renewables conference from Feb 15 to Feb 17 to encourage growth in the industry.
