IREDA to create a Green Window for green energy finance

“Renewable energy is increasingly cheaper and better for the strategic interests of India, and the IREDA Green Window would provide a significant boost to the renewable energy market. As India moves towards becoming a $5 trillion economy, the country’s aim to install 450 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity would be one of the major drivers of its economic growth,” said Kumar.

Speaking at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 25) in Madrid, Spain, Kumar said India is considering allocation of approximately $20 million for the Green window, with plans of leveraging $80 million from other agencies to establish a facility of $100 million.

The Green Window would be set up to dedicatedly support underserved clean energy markets and support the scaling up of new clean energy technologies. The seed capital will be used to leverage additional sources of capital from both private domestic banks and international sources.

IREDA is India’s leading financial institution dedicated to clean energy expansion. Since its founding under MNRE in 1987, IREDA has financed the largest share of renewable energy projects in India.

India is one of the top three nations leading global renewable energy growth. As of October 2019, India’s installed capacity renewable capacity has already met about half of its 2022 target of 175 GW. Achieving the 175 GW goal would increase green energy access for millions of Indians and, additionally, could create up to 1 million job opportunities for over 300,000 workers in the country by 2022. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced India’s commitment to go much beyond the 2022 goal and install 450 GW of renewables- more than five times the current installed renewables capacity.

India, however, needs high amount of capital invested – of the order of Rs21,45,000 crore ($330 billion) between 2018 and 2030 - to accomplish its commitments under the Paris Agreement. Given the existing high exposure to conventional power, there is limited debt capacity in the financial system to fund the amount of new generation needed to meet renewables target. A green window would lower the risk for traditional banks to finance green energy and tap into international capital to help India power its cities and rural communities.

Green windows, like green banks, are public entities created to work with the private sector to increase investment in green energy and bring clean energy financing into the mainstream. They are innovative and new tools that have been successful in the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Malaysia and the United States.