The UK Government’s Commonwealth Development Corp (CDC) has announced that it will invest $100m in India’s renewable energy sector.
As part of the investment, CDC will establish an energy company in India to offer finance for the renewable energy sector.
The announcement comes after discussions between both the governments, including the UK Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy Secretary of State Greg Clark and Government of India Minister of Power, New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal.
Both the governments have agreed to collaborate on ‘Energy For Growth’. As part of the programme, UK will support India’s power companies in introducing smart technology to improve performance and reduce losses as well as deploying of renewable energy projects.
The investment of $100m is in addition to UK’s climate funding through Clean Technology Fund for India with an approved investment plan of $775m.
BEIS said: “The two ministers reaffirmed their governments’ commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Paris Agreement to tackle global climate change and welcomed the early entry into force of the Agreement in 2016.
“The Paris Agreement calls for low carbon growth and India and the UK will work together to make the most of the opportunities this brings.”
The Government of India to encourage renewable energy, has put in place several incentives such as generation-based incentives (GBIs), capital and interest subsidies, viability gap funding (VGF), concessional finance and fiscal incentives.
New instruments for raising funds such as green masala bonds on the London Stock Exchange have also been introduced.