$55 bn to flow into renewable energy in 5 yrs
27 Oct, 2010, 04.10AM IST,ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: India expects investments of up to $55 billion in the next five years in the renewable energy sector, which would generate 35,000 MW of power, a top official said.
India, one of the leading producers of wind power, is encouraging investment in renewable energy to curb emissions and reduce dependence on oil as the country imports nearly three quarters of the oil it consumes.
“There would be investments to the tune of $55 billion by 2015 in the renewable energy sector which is expected to produce 35 GW of power,” Debashish Majumdar, chairman and managing director, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) told reporters on the sidelines of a conference.
IREDA, established in 1987, promotes renewable energy and energy conservation projects. It is administered by the ministry of renewable energy (MNRE).
Renewable sources account for about 6,000 MW out of India’s capacity of about 80,000 MW, but the government believes that the country can raise output of renewable energy to 85, 000 in a little over a decade.
New and renewable energy minister Farooq Abdullah said the government is targeting to electrify 10000 remote villages across the country by March 2012. “We will provide electricity to 10,000 villages at the cost of `500 crore the end of the current plan period,” he said at a press conference on the Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference (DIREC).
The minister highlighted the potential of hot springs in Jammu and said the government was considering pilot projects for its development.
DIREC 2010 is a three-day International Renewable Energy Conference beginning from October 27 that will feature more than 9,000 delegates, over 25 speakers and 600 exhibitors from 50 countries. At the conference, several agreements in the field of renewable energy are expected to be signed between Indian and foreign firms.
