India may miss solar, wind energy targets by 2022: Survey

India may not achieve its renewable energy target of having 100 GW of solar energy and 60 GW of wind power by 2022, as per a survey conducted by a consulting firm Bridge to India.

India is expected to add total 66 GW of solar energy and 52 GW of wind power by March 2022 — which is 66 percent of 100 GW of solar and 87 percent of 60 GW wind targets set by the government, as per the 3rd edition of RE CEO Survey by Bridge To India said in a statement.

The survey fond that the most pressing issue for the industry is safeguard duties, followed by uncertainty in overall policy environment and weak financial position of Discoms.

It said that 70 pe cent of the industry (respondents) feels that bidding in the sector is irrationally aggressive.

However, it finds that despite these challenges, bulk of respondents are optimistic about the industry and overall growth prospects.

Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra top the list of preferred states for overall sector, open access solar and rooftop solar, respectively.

The industry remains unenthusiastic about prospects of domestic manufacturing, with 77 per cent of responses indicating that India's total integrated module manufacturing capacity will be less than 3 GW by 2022.

Speaking on the survey report Vinay Rustagi, MD, Bridge To India, said in the statement: "Indian RE (Renewable Energy) market, currently about 10 GW per annum, is rapidly acquiring scale and maturity.

The survey highlights that notwithstanding some major policy issues, including safeguard duties and poor financial condition of Discoms, the industry remains optimistic about future growth prospects. Aggressive bidding environment and possible imposition of safeguard duty are major worries for the sector".