NEW DELHI: Clean energy projects in the country can look forward to loans to the tune of Rs 13,000 crore from Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (Ireda) in the next financial year.
With the government planning to add 15-16 GW of clean energy projects, including solar and wind, there would be total credit market size of around Rs 65,000 crore. According to
Ireda Chairman K S Popli, Ireda would be able to release around Rs 8,000 crore for these clean energy projects in country.
Ireda has sanctioned around Rs 37,000 crore of credit for clean energy projects in the country so far and has released around Rs 28,000 crore to developers, which aids generation capacity of around 7,000 MW.
The lower cost of equipment and lower borrowing charges have already pulled down solar energy tariff to all-time low of Rs 2.97 per unit last month.
The wind power tariff has, too, dropped to a record low of Rs 3.46 per unit in an auction of 1,000 MW capacity conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India. The loan sanctions by IREDA have grown from Rs 826 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 7,806 crore in 2015-16, with a CAGR of 32 per cent and expected to cross Rs 10,000 crore during this fiscal.
Loan disbursements have grown from Rs 553 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 4,257 crore in 2015-16, with a CAGR of 29 per cent and is likely to cross Rs 6,000 crore in the financial year 2016-17.
The net profit of the company has increased from Rs 47.96 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 298.04 crore in 2015-16. To give more wings to Ireda’s ambitious plans to finance clean energy projects, its board has approved initial public offering proposal of Rs 13.90 crore fresh equity share with face value of Rs 10 each during February 2017.
The initiative would help Ireda increase its net worth facilitating lending to larger projects.