A brief Introduction of the Indian Renewable energy Industry
The renewable energy sector in India is one of the most attractive energy markets in the whole world. India ranked fourth in wind power energy harvesting and in renewable power installed capacity, also was ranked fifth in solar power usage in 2020.
The position of renewable power generation volume has gained significant pace over the last couple of years. With the increased support of the Government, the sector has become attractive from an investors’ perspective and the economics of it has also improved significantly. As India looks to meet its energy demand, which is expected to surge 10 fold by 2040, renewable energy and the sources of conserving as well as utilizing it become the key objective. It is also anticipated that the renewable energy sector might create a huge chunk of domestic and IT related jobs over the coming years.
The Ever Growing Market Size
It was reported that in September 2021 itself, India had 101 GW (Gigawatts) of renewable energy capacity which represents around 38% of the overall capacity of installed power in the country. But, India has now chosen to target the capacity of 450 GW power by these renewable energy
sources till 2030.
India is a huge market and even larger in proportions when you think of its future potential. For the year 2020 the renewable energy sources that generated power reached a scorching 127.1 billion units which is equivalent to the whole of the African Continent.
With a rather small potential capacity of 363 GW and strategy focused around this sector, Northern India is expected to become a major hub for renewable energy in India in the coming future.
A Look at few Investments and Developments in the Renewable Energy Sector in India
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) recently released data which shows FDI’s inflow in the Indian market at around 10 billion USD between 2000 and 2021. Since then more than 42 billion USD has been invested in India’s renewable energy market. Fresh investment in clean energy in India reached 11 billion USD back in 2018. India is now ranked 3rd globally in terms of its renewable energy investments and plans in 2020 according to the analytics firm British Business Energy (BBE).
Some of the major changes taking place in the Indian Renewable Energy Markets are as follows:
Adani Green Energy Ltd. (AGEL) acquired SB Energy India in October 2021 to strengthen its position in this sector in India.
Tata Power Solar also picked up a contract worth Rs. 686 crore from the NTPC in June 2021, to build 210 MW (Megawatt) projects in the state of Gujarat.
In June 2021, Reliance Industries were not far behind when they announced to invest Rs. 750,00 crore in the green energy segment.
A large-scale solar park auction organized by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has awarded contracts for 47 parks with over 25 GW of combined capacity.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) in March 2021, reported a loan guarantee programme worth 41 million USD to support Indian SME investments in the renewable energy sector.
