India proposed to fund almost a third of solar-plant construction costs as it outlined rules for a second phase of project auctions today.
The country, seeking bids next month to build 750 megawatts of capacity, is offering grants of as much as 25 million rupees ($46,000) a megawatt or 30 percent of project costs, according to the draft guidelines published on the website of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
The proposals mark the first time the solar industry has attracted such extensive direct grants in India. The government, which has previously used the funding model to build roads, railways and coal-fired power plants, is seeking to boost renewable-energy output to curb chronic blackouts that shave an estimated 1.2 percentage points off annual economic growth.
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