The Indian Budget 2017 and the Indian Solar Industry
India has set up a humongous target of installing 175 GW of solar power by 2022. Not only does this requires a huge commitment on the part of the Indian solar players but also demands a large financial obligation. It is estimated that solar, alone, would require $100 billion in debt to reach 100 GW.
Though the recent budget has announced financial aid to the solar sector but it is a marginal increase. Moreover, the budget has ignored solar rooftop and storage segments which should have been prioritized. In 2016-17 INR 20 crore was allocated for developing energy storage technologies. However, there is no allocation for energy storage in the most recent budget. There was no allowance for electric vehicles as well.
Some Positives for Solar Energy in Budget 2017
Also read What You Need To Know About India’s First Solar Powered Village.
Negatives for Solar Industry in Budget 2017
There have been ambiguities regarding the impact of GST on the solar market in India as well. Another uncertainty is the transfer of coal cess to the National Environment Fund, funds from will be utilized for the renewable energy projects.
2 Comments
I feel budget allocation for solar energy is not negative as classified in your article.
Thanks for your comment Rajat! Everyone has his view point. I feel with so much going on in the country and so much more to achieve, we definitely need more encouragement on the financial front.