Investment in RE Jumps 22 Per Cent in 2015

Investments in clean or renewable energy in India have touched $10.9 billion on solar surge against an annual average of $8 billion in the last three years, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Thanks mainly to the Indian government’s ambitious push to install 100 GW of solar power capacity by 2022, investment in the renewable energy sector has surged 22 per cent to $10.9 bn in 2015, edging closer to the highest ever investment of $13.1 bn achieved in 2011. Investment in solar energy reached $5.6 bn in 2015, up 80 per cent from $3.1 bn in the previous year, as per the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Report. The country’s installed solar capacity grew from 22 MW in 2011 to 2.5 GW in 2014. The capacity addition in 2015 was more than double the level in 2013 and 2014 combined, at 2 GW. It is estimated that 2016 will see an increase of 140 per cent in solar capacity addition, to around 5 GW.

The focus on grid-connected solar capacity meant that money flowing into the sector surpassed that of wind sector for the first time. Wind power has traditionally had a stronger foothold in the country with the availability of feed-in tariff enabling private players to develop wind power and manufacture related equipment. Compared to a cumulative capacity of under 4.5 GW of solar capacity, wind power contributes nearly 24 GW to the energy mix, thanks to the steady growth over the past few years.

Source: www.financialexpress.com