Investment in renewables to quadruple to Rs 19 lakh crore between FY25 and FY30: Crisil – EQ
In Short : According to Crisil, investment in renewable energy in India is projected to quadruple to Rs 19 lakh crore between FY25 and FY30. This significant surge is driven by government initiatives, favorable policies, and increasing demand for clean energy. The growth will support India’s transition to a greener energy mix, boosting solar, wind, and storage capacity for a sustainable future.
In Detail : India’s power sector attracted Rs 5.2 lakh crore in green investments from FY19 to FY24 and is projected to draw another Rs 21 lakh crore between FY25 and FY30, from which Rs 19 lakh crore will flow into renewable generation, a Crisil Intelligence report said Wednesday.
Notably, the figure falls short of the Rs 30 lakh crore needed to meet India’s 500 GW renewable capacity target by 2030, according to a recent estimate by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
Investments in renewable generation will grow from Rs 5.1 lakh crore to Rs 18.8 lakh crore, largely on account of solar and battery storage-linked projects.
On the other hand, green investments in the transmission and distribution segments are expected to grow at a faster rate to support building of long-distance evacuation infrastructure and installation of smart meters.
From a mere Rs 3,000 crore between FY19 and FY24, green investments in transmission is likely to surge to Rs 70,000 crore over the next five years, while investments in distribution will jump from Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 1.4 lakh crore, the report said.
Apart from the projected Rs 21 lakh crore in investments to decarbonise the power sector, Crisil expects another Rs 10 lakh crore to flow in to decarbonise the automotive, oil and gas, steel, and cement sectors, taking the total projected green investments to Rs 31 lakh between FY25 and FY30.
In September, MNRE had said roughly Rs 9 lakh crore was invested to set up renewable capacity of nearly 130 GW between 2014 and 2024. To meet the 500 GW target by 2030, which excludes battery storage capacity, the ministry estimated another Rs 30 lakh crore would be required over the next five years.
State-owned NTPC Ltd leads with plans for 60 GW of renewable capacity by 2032, followed by Adani Power Ltd’s target of 50 GW by 2030, while SJVN Ltd, Tata Power Co Ltd, and JSW Energy Ltd have announced targets of 25 GW, 23 GW, and 20 GW respectively, according to the report.
Currently, India’s renewable capacity stands at 162 GW, of which 98 GW is solar and 48 GW is wind.
“If one looks at the power sector, it stands out where investment potential is fairly strong and share in the overall GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions is also very high. Here, potential is high for investment due to favourable cost economics, large-scale adoption of RE (renewable energy) that we are seeing, and scaling of storage for round-the-clock power,” Rahul Prithiani, senior director at Crisil, said.
To facilitate investments into solar and wind energy generation, the report said adequate debt finance through banks, sector-focused development financial institutions (DFIs) and bond markets will be available.
“Development of green bond markets is likely to provide significant opportunity, too. Besides, robust capital markets, monetisation of operational assets through secondary sale, and infrastructure investment trusts can ensure adequate equity funding,” it added.
