The 3rd Global RE-INVEST Renewable Energy Investors Meet & Expo 2020 organised by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) took place virtually from November 26-28, 2020.The event was virtually inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
i.The Theme of RE-INVEST 2020 is ‘Innovations for Sustainable Energy Transition’.
ii.Partner Countries – Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Maldives, the United Kingdom, European Union and United States agencies.
iii.Partner States – Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
iv.The meet was organized by MNRE in association with Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Objective of RE-INVEST 2020:
To speed up development and deployment of renewable energy, and connect the global investment community with Indian energy stakeholders.
Participants:
i.Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel;Kwasi Kwarteng, Energy Minister from the United Kingdom (UK); Bento Albuquerque, Minister of Mines and Energy, Brazil; Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of Netherlands;Dan Jorgensen Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities , Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities , Denmark attended the event.
75 International Ministerial delegations, 1000 Global Industry Leaders and 50, 000 delegates attended the event.
PM Modi Inaugurates RE-INVEST 2020:
On November 26, 2020, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated and addressed the 3rd Global RE-INVEST Renewable Energy Investors Meet & Expo.
Key Points from the Address:
i.India is now the 4th Largest renewable power capacity in the world. The Top 3 countries are China, United States & Brazil.
ii.At present, India’s Renewable Energy capacity in India is 136 GigaWatts (GW) which is about 36% of the total capacity & By 2022, the share is expected to further increase to over 220 GW.
iii.India’s Annual Renewable Energy Capacity Addition has exceeded coal based thermal power since 2017.
iv.In the past six years (2014-20) around INR 4.7 Lakh Crore have been invested in India to make it a favourable destination for investment in renewables.
v.India’s Solar Energy capacity has increased by 13 times.India’s Installed Renewable Energy Capacity Increased by Two and Half Times in Last six Years.
vi.“One Sun, One World, One Grid (OSOWOG) ” are becoming a reality, all of which were discussed in the earlier editions.
Government to offer PLI incentives for Solar Modules:
PM Modi proposed Production Linked Incentive (PLI) for manufacturing Solar PV (PhotoVoltaics) to promote domestic manufacturing. The demand for domestic solar cells and modules is set to grow around to 36 GW in the next 3 years (2021-24).
i.At present India’s solar panel capacity is around 10 GW including 3 GW of cell manufacturing facilities.
ii.The PLI will be very essential as 50% of developers prefer to import cheaper equipment from China to build solar plants. The imports from China were worth USD 1.3 Billion in the Financial Year 2020.
iii.Due to this India is considering imposing a 20% basic customs duty on Solar Imports.
GoI’s Renewable Energy Deployment Plans:
i.Government of India’s (GoI) huge Renewable Energy Deployment Plans are expected to generate business prospects of the order of around USD 20 Billion per year.
ii.He highlighted GoI’s initiatives like PM KUSUM (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan), “One Sun, One World, One Grid” in India to increase the solar energy capacity addition in India.
National Hydrogen Energy Mission:
PM Modi also announced that India is set to launch a National Hydrogen Energy Mission to support India’s Green Energy Credentials through carbon emission-free next-generation fuel.
i.Under the mission, India plans to build Green Hydrogen plants which will be powered by green energy sources.
ii.The main motive of the mission is to reduce India’s dependence on fossil fuels for mobility.
iii.It will also provide grid-scale storage solutions, and will provide feedstock for ammonia production. India is planning to shift to ‘Green Ammonia’ from imported Ammonia and also add volumes in usage of hydrogen to enhance affordability, accessibility of energy and to support better standards of living.
Address by Mark Rutte, PM of Netherlands:
He remarked that India is a key global player. He also said that the COVID pandemic provides and opportunity to build a greener world.
He also invited India to the Global Climate Adoption Summit 2021 to be held in the Netherlands.
Address by Benjamin Netanyahu, PM of Israel:
Israel is a partner of India in this quest.
He informed that coal consumption in Israel will reach zero by 2025.
Chief Ministers Session at RE-INVEST 2020:
Uttar Pradesh:
Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath while addressing RE-INVEST 2020 announced that UP will establish 1000 MW solar power projects between 2021-25.
i.It has also set a target for installing 10700 MW solar projects by 2022. It aims to electrify 1 Lakh households with the help of Solar Power through Saubhagya Scheme.
ii.He also proposed that a 1200 MW ultra-mega park will be established in Jalaun by UP New Energy Development Authority (UP Neda) and National Hydro-Electric Power Corporation. A 600 MW power plant each will be set up in Jhansi and Lalitpur.
Rajasthan:
During the event, Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot stated that Rajasthan will meet its target of 30, 000 MW solar energy and 7, 500 MW wind and hybrid power generation by 2024-25.
i.At present, the state has installed 10, 000 MW solar and wind power projects. Around 27, 000 MW capacity plants are also being installed.
ii.He highlighted schemes like Rajasthan Investment Promotion Scheme (RIPS) 2019, Solar Energy Policy 2019, and Wind and Hybrid Energy Policy 2019 to attract investments in the state.
Madhya Pradesh:
Madhya Pradesh (MP) Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan stated that the state will increase Solar Power Generation from 5, 000 MW to 10, 000 MW.
i.Currently, Renewable Energy forms 20 % of total power generation in MP.
Union Territory of Ladakh:
Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh RK Mathur stated that Ladakh has potential for 30 GW of Solar Energy, 5 GW of Wind Energy, 2 GW of Hydel Energy and 300 MW of Geothermal Energy.
i.He also highlighted the steps taken by Government of India to make Ladakh Carbon Neutral.
ii.He announced that a 1 MW Pilot Project will be initiated to harness Geothermal potential in the Puga Valley.
India’s Islands – A&N & Lakshadweep to be developed as Green Islands:
Minister of State (MoS) (Independent Charge) for Power, New and Renewable Energy, RK Singh stated that Government of India has set targets to Islands – Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep to make their energy needs be met from Renewable Energy.
i.He also reiterated India’s support to Maldives to promote its Renewable Energy Projects.
ii.He also stated that India has installed about 1, 36, 000 MW of Renewable Energy Capacity. Capacity Addition of another 57, 000 MW is in progress.
Note: –
India’s Target – 450 GW of Renewable Energy capacity by 2030.
Next Frontier in Renewable Energy for India:
RK Singh highlighted that “Increased Storage & Democratization of Renewable Energy deployment” will be the next target for the Government of India.
India has attracted $ 64 Billion Foreign investment in Indian Renewable Industry in last 4 years.
Fact:
India Targets 175 GW Renewable Energy by 2022 – 100 GW Solar, 60 GW Wind, 10 GW Bio-Energy, 5 GW Small Hydro. 89.63 GW of Renewable Energy has already been installed by India.
Recent Related News:
i.On June 17, 2020, The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set up a Project Development Cell (PDC) under its joint secretary Amitesh Kumar Sinha to attract investment in clean energy, especially in the solar sector.
ii.On July 23, 2020, Raj Kumar Singh, MoS, IC Power and New & Renewable Energy stated that India will have around 60% of the installed capacity of the electricity generation from renewable resources by 2030.
About Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE):
Minister of State (MoS), (Independent Charge) – Raj Kumar Singh
Headquarters – New Delhi
