‘Solar power developers need easy credit’
CHANDIGARH: Punjab new and renewable energy minister Bikram Singh Majithia on Friday asked financial institutions and banks to provide easy credit to solar power developers and also launch a special package for rooftop-solar projects.
Presiding over a meeting with financial institutions and banks in New Delhi, Majithia said Punjab had taken major initiatives in launching innovative programmes in the new and renewable energy sector to enhance clean and green power generation capacity in the state.
He pointed out that the state was promoting the setting up of ground-based, rooftop-based, canal top-based and reservoir-based solar power systems.
Majithia held a meeting with representatives of the Indian Renewable Energ y Development Agency, Power Finance Corporation, Larsen and Toubro Infra Finance, Industrial Development Bank of India, Asian Development Bank, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), Bank of India and Tata Power Solar.
The minister said the state’s present new and renewable sources of energy power generation capacity was 811 MW and it was planned to raise it to 5,400 MW by 2022. Majithia called upon senior officers of banks and financial institutions to actively participate in the state’s initiative in renewable energy, which has an estimated investment potential of ` 33,000 crore, of which ` 23,000 crore was the financing requirement for setting up of these projects.
Anirudh Tewari, secretary, new and renewable energy, Punjab, explained the potential of 1,000 MW on canal tops and reservoirs in the state.