Utilising 1 lakh mw thermal power can solve India's energy problem in 18 months
Updated: Oct 14, 2014 11:43:57am
New Delhi, Oct 14 (KNN) Chairman of Advisory Group for Integrated Development of Power, Suresh Prabhu has said that India can work out its energy problem within 18 months by applying one lakh megawatt capacity.
“One lakh MW capacity of mainly thermal is lying in various stages of incompletion, if you can put it into place along with 2,50,000 MW of capacity, India could in the shortest possible time of less than 18 months have at least 80 per cent of what we have today,” said Prabhu in a seminar on Financing and Regulatory issues in Renewable Energy’ organised by ASSOCHAM.
Others who addressed the seminar were Chairman, Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission PD Sudhakar, ASSOCHAM member of National Council of New and Renewable Energy Rajesh Kumar Mediratta, Welspun Energy Limited vice-president Raghunath Mahapatra and member Saurabh Agarwal.
Prabhu said the energy problem can be dealt with in a substantial manner if this opportunity is used.
Terming financing as an extremely challenging issue being faced by the renewable energy sector, the chairman said there is a need for investment in some form of an instrument in place to generate USD 7.5 billion of equity and USD 22.5 billion of debt.
“Equity is going to be extremely challenging unlike debt financing,” he added.
He suggested that the government transfer clean energy levy worth Rs 100 per tonne being collected from Coal India to the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) as they could leverage this by nine times as part of capital adequacy norms for non-banking financial companies.
“If we give them something like Rs 20,000 crore they could easily have another Rs 1,80,000 crore, which they can borrow from the market because 1:9 is possible for them as NBFCs could leverage the capital by nine times and this is something which they should be doing by using IREDA more effectively,” said Prabhu.
He demanded access to international finance which is possible through climate finance.
There are a large number of entities, both private and public who have interest to advance renewable energy because of diverse reasons, he added.
The chairman emphasised the using of innovative ideas and mechanisms to create new instruments to finance the ambitious programme of promoting renewable energy.
He also said that the use of tax as an instrument to discourage non-renewable energy is undesirable for India as it would push the energy costs upwards.
Prabhu said there is a need to enforce the Renewable Purchase Obligation in the states to take up the responsibility for switching to renewable energy.
“Even large utilities like National Thermal Power Corporation Limited must be forced to have RPO and then automatically the mix into energy will increase,” he said. (KNN/ST)
“One lakh MW capacity of mainly thermal is lying in various stages of incompletion, if you can put it into place along with 2,50,000 MW of capacity, India could in the shortest possible time of less than 18 months have at least 80 per cent of what we have today,” said Prabhu in a seminar on Financing and Regulatory issues in Renewable Energy’ organised by ASSOCHAM.
Others who addressed the seminar were Chairman, Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission PD Sudhakar, ASSOCHAM member of National Council of New and Renewable Energy Rajesh Kumar Mediratta, Welspun Energy Limited vice-president Raghunath Mahapatra and member Saurabh Agarwal.
Prabhu said the energy problem can be dealt with in a substantial manner if this opportunity is used.
Terming financing as an extremely challenging issue being faced by the renewable energy sector, the chairman said there is a need for investment in some form of an instrument in place to generate USD 7.5 billion of equity and USD 22.5 billion of debt.
“Equity is going to be extremely challenging unlike debt financing,” he added.
He suggested that the government transfer clean energy levy worth Rs 100 per tonne being collected from Coal India to the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) as they could leverage this by nine times as part of capital adequacy norms for non-banking financial companies.
“If we give them something like Rs 20,000 crore they could easily have another Rs 1,80,000 crore, which they can borrow from the market because 1:9 is possible for them as NBFCs could leverage the capital by nine times and this is something which they should be doing by using IREDA more effectively,” said Prabhu.
He demanded access to international finance which is possible through climate finance.
There are a large number of entities, both private and public who have interest to advance renewable energy because of diverse reasons, he added.
The chairman emphasised the using of innovative ideas and mechanisms to create new instruments to finance the ambitious programme of promoting renewable energy.
He also said that the use of tax as an instrument to discourage non-renewable energy is undesirable for India as it would push the energy costs upwards.
Prabhu said there is a need to enforce the Renewable Purchase Obligation in the states to take up the responsibility for switching to renewable energy.
“Even large utilities like National Thermal Power Corporation Limited must be forced to have RPO and then automatically the mix into energy will increase,” he said. (KNN/ST)
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