The National Solar Federation of India (NSEFI), the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), and HSBC India came together to host a landmark event that focused on supporting the adoption of solar energy by companies in the manufacturing sector. The event brought together industry experts, policymakers, and financial institutions for a holistic discussion on addressing the opportunities in solar financing and at-scale deployment in India, including innovative financing models and risk mitigation strategies.
As India continues its transition towards renewable energy, solar energy stands out as a key foundational driver of this journey. This has meant an increased focus on rapid development of solar technologies and prioritization of at-scale solar manufacturing. India has been a key player in the global solar movement and is the 3rd largest solar power generator. Installed solar capacity in the country has increased ~30 times in the last 9 years and stands at 85.47 GW as of Jun 2024. With availability of abundant sunlight, favourable geographic conditions, cohesive policy and regulatory ecosystem, and a growing energy demand, India has the potential to lead the world in this space. This joint initiative sought to work with the manufacturing sector and address the financing barriers faced by the companies and discussed ideas to foster a sustainable and inclusive growth model within the renewable energy sector.
NSEFI CEO Subrahmanyam Pulipaka, said, “Indian Renewable Energy journey is at an inflection point as the next 7 years are crucial in accelerating RE installations to achieve 2030 targets. With encouraging government policies including Green Energy open access, PM Surya Ghar Mut Bijli Yojana, PM KUSUM apart from the announced trajectory of Utility Scale Solar, hybrid and FDRE projects, demand for domestic manufacturing is expected to grow significantly. Access to affordable capital is a key to scaling up India’s manufacturing to meet the growing demand. This joint endeavour of NSEFI, USIBC and HSBC India aimed at establishing meaningful discourse for identifying key opportunities to facilitate infusion of affordable capital in Indian Solar manufacturing.
USIBC Managing Director Alexander Slater, said, “The future belongs to economies that can both reduce the carbon-intensity of economic growth and create jobs. Perhaps no area holds as much potential in delivering these outcomes as the solar power ecosystem. The United States and India are working together on policies, incentives, financing, and partnerships to dramatically increase India’s role in the international solar supply chain. We at the U.S.-India Business Council are committed to supporting their work by leveraging our members’ vast capabilities and network of partners at the national and state levels. Together, we will broaden and increase India’s manufacturing capabilities in the sector and spur demand for its outputs at companies big and small.”
Hitendra Dave, CEO, HSBC India, said, “Financial institutions like us can have an impact by supporting customers from the manufacturing sector as they adopt solar energy. Through different sustainable financing solutions, comprehensive business support and science-based insights, we can be part of our customers’ transition to lower emissions. Our collaboration with the Government and other stakeholders in this space aims to reduce real-world emissions while supporting economic growth.”
Government of India have launched various schemes to encourage generation of solar power in the country and various tax exemptions, capital subsidies and incentives are available for the solar energy value chain. The event also highlighted the exemplary work being done by the Tamil Nadu government, which has emerged as the leader in solar energy adoption in the country. As of June 30, 2024, Tamil Nadu’s total installed capacity of renewable power was 22,754 MW, of which solar power is at 8,617 MW. The State’s proactive policies and robust infrastructure demonstrate how strategic initiatives and support can drive significant growth in the renewable energy sector.
The roundtable event was attended by prominent leaders and laid a strong foundation for future initiatives, ensuring that India advances towards achieving its renewable energy targets. Some of the key pointers discussed during the event were:
Solar power is no longer a niche but a mainstream energy source. Technological developments are required in storage to make this further viable.
• There are opportunities and challenges across gross and net metering and net billing.
• There is a potential for scale deployment, especially for MSMEs and SMEs
• Importance of enablers including financing at scale
About NSEFI
NSEFI has been India’s leading Renewable Energy policy advocacy body for the past decade and is an umbrella organisation representing renewable energy (RE) companies that are active along the whole RE value chain comprising leading International, National, and regional companies including Developers, manufacturers, EPC Contractors, Installers, System Integrators, Small and Medium Enterprises etc. NSEFI works in a complimentary manner with Central and State Governments to achieve India’s Renewable Target of 500 GW by 2030. NSEFI’s efforts have culminated into making India’s solar a successful growth story where India is today the 5th Largest country in terms of installed solar capacity.
As an industry body, NSEFI is at the helm of policy advocacy for the growth of RE in India. NSEFI engages with multiple government stakeholders on a regular basis based on the feedback from its members and provides its inputs on the policies pertaining to various subsectors of the Indian RE sector namely Solar, Wind, Hydro, Biomass and Green Hydrogen. NSEFI’s member base grew steadily from a humble number of 6 in 2013 to 142 in 2023, which makes NSEFI the world’s 5th largest Solar Association and South East Asia’s Largest RE advocacy body. NSEFI members today represent almost 95% of India’s Solar market in terms of installed capacity.
About USIBC
Established in 1975 at the behest of the U.S. and Indian Governments, the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) represents hundreds of top global companies operating across the United States, India, and the Indo-Pacific. Amid dynamic growth within the U.S.-India commercial partnership, we serve as the premier voice of industry and create connections between businesses and governments across both countries. Through our flagship Washington, D.C. and New Delhi offices and presences across both countries, we work with members to identify and advance key policy priorities. Recognizing that U.S.-India trade is increasingly driven by new business hubs, USIBC is also focused on strengthening connections between cities and states. USIBC’s policy expertise and impact is enhanced by being a part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whose thousands of member companies represent the power of free enterprise to enhance the peace, freedom, and security of people in America and around the world.
HSBC Bank India
HSBC in India offers a full range of banking and financial services through 26 branches across 14 cities. HSBC is one of India’s leading financial services groups, with around 42,000 employees in its banking, investment banking and capital markets, asset management, insurance, software development and global resourcing operations in the country. It is a leading custodian in India. The Bank is at the forefront in arranging deals for Indian companies investing overseas and foreign investments into the country.
