Eco Factor: Government of India plans financial incentives to attract private investors in solar and wind energy sector.
India, a country with world’s second largest population, has always faced a deficit in energy generation. With an aim to reduce dependence on conventional energy resources, the government now plans to diversify its energy-generating portfolio. The government has decided to provide incentives in the wind and solar energy sector as part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change, to increase contribution of renewable energy sources to power generations by at least 10 percent by 2015.
To attract private investment in the solar energy sector, a battery of incentives involving tax breaks and power purchase agreements are in the offing. All electricity boards will now have to generate at least 10 percent of their energy from renewable energy sources besides increasing the share of power produced from clean energy sources by one percent every year until 2020.
The government has also set an attractive power tariff of Rs. 17.91 per kWh for power generated from solar PV plants. Other than this, the government would be setting up a security fund to pay the project developers in case the state utilities default on their payments. The government aims to add 1100 MW of solar energy capacity by 2013 and eventually increase it to 20,000 MW by 2022 using massive investments and incentives in the short term.
Via: Clean Technica
