India for long term funding to keep energy cost affordable

Ahead of next month's Paris summit on climate change, India has underlined the need for long term low-cost funding to keep energy cost affordable considering the development needs of its fast growing economy.Participating in a panel discussion on 'Unlocking Investment in Developing Countries' at the State Department here, Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal said in the next five to six years, India needs huge capital investment around USD 250 billion to meet its renewable energy goals. "In order to sustain the process of environment friendly economic development in the long run, development of new and renewable sources of energy acquires utmost importance for India," he said.

He "emphasised the need for long term low cost funding to keep energy cost affordable considering the development imperatives of India's fast growing economy." The Minister is here at the invitation of Secretary of State John Kerry to participate in the Climate and Clean Energy Investment Forum 2015. Observing that India's renewable energy potential is vast and holds a great promise, he said it provides ample opportunities for trade and investment to set up manufacturing, leapfrog technologies and create volumes. The discussion was moderated by Michael Liebreich, Bloomberg New Energy Finance and the other panelist was Amos Hochstein, Special US Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs.

Goyal underlined India's commitment to pursuing a green path to growth through its plans for deployment of 175 GW of renewable power capacity by 2022, including 100 GW of solar and 60 GW of wind power, a media release said. Yesterday, Goyal met Kerry. During his meeting with Kerry and other US officials, the two sides acknowledged a major positive shift in the trajectory of US-India relations and committed to explore new opportunities for co-operation.

The US officials appreciated India's efforts to promote new and renewable energy sources and India's commitment towards climate and clean energy. At the State Department, Goyal spoke about India's concerted efforts to introduce new means of financing and innovative financial instruments that can leverage greater investments and broaden the investor base. He outlined the steps being taken to improve the contractual/ counter-party risk framework which is critical to all investors; unlocking investment from domestic banking and capital markets; and significantly scaling of international capital flows.

Goyal spoke about initiatives such as Greening the Grid; National Solar Mission: LED Programme for enhancing energy efficiency etc. He also announced that a fund focusing on renewable energy within the National Infrastructure Investment Fund is under active consideration of the Government. He reaffirmed India's commitment to take all necessary steps to create a conducive environment for promoting investment in the renewable energy sector and strengthening the regulatory and institutional framework.