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Indias renewable energy investments topple fossil-fuel for the first time in 2017- IEA

New Delhi: Investment in India’s renewable energy sector overtook those made in the country’s fossil-fuel based power generation projects for the first time in 2017, Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) has said in its World Energy Investment 2018 report.

“India’s power sector investment is changing rapidly, and for the first time in 2017, investment in renewable power topped that for fossil fuel generation. Investment in renewables, at over one-third of total power sector investment, reached nearly $20 billion, driven by a more than doubling of solar PV investment and record spending in onshore wind projects,” the report said.

It added the investment case for thermal power generation has grown more uncertain and investments associated with coal plants coming on line in 2017 fell by one-third to under $15 billion. Investments in power projects using coal, gas and oil as a fuel in India was at $16 billion in 2017. 

“Final investment decision for new coal power plants fell to their lowest level in 15 years in 2017, while thermal assets classified as financially stressed continued to rise. Investment in dispatchable renewable power plants, notably hydropower and bioenergy, as well as gas power has remained relatively low and stable. Finally, spending on electricity networks, at over 35% of power sector investment, remains near historical highs,” the IEA report stated. 

China, along with US, Europe and India accounted for nearly two-thirds of global investment in electricity networks in 2017.

The global energy investments totalled $1.8 trillion in 2017, the third consecutive year of their decline. Of the $1.8 trillion spent globally on energy projects, more than $750 billion went to the electricity sector while $715 billion was spent on the oil and gas supply chain.