India must invest billions in renewable energy till 2022

To achieve the renewable energy target of 72,000 MW by 2022, India must invest approximately $46.22 billion (€39 billion) into the industry, reports Research and Markets.

India will also have to make investments to upgrade the transmission and distribution infrastructure, as well as old renewable plants. In total, India will have to invest $83.35 billion in the renewable energy market till 2022.

India has set the target of achieving an overall renewable energy installed capacity of 41,400 MW by 2017 and 72,400 MW by 2022.

Up until 31 March 2014, it was reported that India had only achieved 12.95% of its renewable energy potential. Despite this, India is ranked number 5 in the world behind China, US, Germany and Spain.

India has adopted various measures to bridge the demand-supply gap using policy reforms, participation from private sector and development of Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPP).

Reducing the reliance on coal and other conventional power sources and increasing the share of cleaner and sustainable source of energy, will be the country's priority for the power sector in the coming years.