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Govt may 'tap' 'green' bonds to fund battery, storage, north-east hydropower projects

 


The Centre's borrowing for October-March, estimated at Rs 5.92 trillion, includes Rs 16,000 crore of its sovereign green bonds.

India's first Sovereign Green Bond can be used to finance a range of clean energy schemes, including viability gap funding for battery storage, energy efficiency schemes for small and medium businesses and hydropower projects in the North-East. Equity support for.

New Delhi: India's first sovereign green bond could be used to finance a range of clean energy schemes, including viability gap funding for battery storage, energy efficiency schemes for small and medium businesses and in the North-East. Includes equity support for hydroelectric projects.

Two government officials aware of the schemes said the power ministry is proposing to consider these schemes for allocation in green bonds worth ₹16,000 crore. Schemes will be selected based on their ability to reduce carbon emissions and the carbon intensity of the economy.

The government in February's Union Budget announced plans to sell sovereign bonds to fund green infrastructure. The government's borrowing for the second half is estimated at ₹5.92 trillion, including ₹16,000 crore from its sovereign green bond offering.

Such an initiative is expected to strengthen India's green energy credentials at the United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt next month.

“In the first tranche, a total of ₹16,000 crore is to be made available under green finance bonds to all ministries. The proposal to include VGF scheme for battery storage, MSME energy efficiency schemes and equity support scheme for hydroelectric projects of north-eastern states in the first tranche is in the works,” said one of the above two government officials, who did not wish to be named. Said requesting.

While VGF can drive India's infrastructure-building plans through public-private partnerships, the electricity storage business is expected to be an important part of the energy transition. Large battery storages that store electricity in the form of chemical or electrochemical energy and re-convert it into electricity provide power to India's electricity grid, given the intermittent nature of electricity from clean energy sources such as solar and wind. can help.

The idea is to store cheap green electricity during off-peak hours in battery storage and release it for consumption when the demand for electricity increases.

Also, given the large share of small and medium businesses in the economy, the Center seeks to improve energy intensity in industries and promote the use of clean technology in them. Fair price signaling programs to achieve demand-side response include a market-based energy efficiency trading mechanism 'Perform, Acquire and Trade'.

India is working on a State Energy Efficiency Action Plan, the final action plan that will be released in December.

The government is also striving to leverage India's hydropower potential to facilitate the world's largest energy transition, as they provide ideal solutions for peak loads. While India's north-eastern states and Bhutan have a total hydroelectric generation capacity of around 58GW, most states cannot leverage the potential due to their financial inability to invest their share of equity to build these large capital-intensive projects. In such a situation, equity assistance scheme for hydroelectric projects of north-eastern states can help in setting up these projects.

Questions emailed Thursday night to the spokespersons of the ministries of Union Power, New and Renewable Energy, Finance and Reserve Bank of India remained unanswered at press time.

Energy storage to help India meet its commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, increase non-fossil energy capacity to 500GW by 2030 and reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by 45% from 2005 levels expected to play an important role in

According to the Central Electricity Authority, India's apex power sector planning body, the country's electricity requirement will be 817GW by 2030, of which more than half will be clean energy. In addition, according to the CEA, the country needs 27GW of battery storage by 2030, with four hours of storage and 10GW of hydro-pumped storage plants (PSPs).

To help with India's national grid management operations, the government plans to bid for the installation of about 4 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of grid-scale battery storage systems at Regional Load Despatch Centers (RLDCs). India is also planning to invite bids for the biggest global tender to set up 14 GWh grid-scale battery storage system in the world's largest renewable energy park in Khavda, Gujarat and 13GWh grid-scale battery storage system in Ladakh. Used to be.

India plans to leverage carbon finance to achieve energy efficiency. As part of the plan, the Lok Sabha in August approved the implementation of provisions to make the use of clean energy mandatory.

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