The delay from the government in releasing subsidies to solar and wind energy companies is affecting the renewable energy market in India adversely, says a report from Economic Times.
These companies are waiting for the government to clear subsidies amounting to more than Rs 1,000 crore as they are in the middle of many projects they launched on the promise of incentives, the report said.
The subsidies are offered in the form of generation-based incentives to wind energy projects and small solar projects of 100 kW to 2 MW.
According to officials at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the ministry has received just a third of its budgetary allocation of Rs 1,521 crore for 2013-14. Also, the allocation for the next fiscal has been reduced by as much as 71 percent to Rs.441 crore.
Government sources say the total amount pending for solar energy companies is about Rs 550 crore.
The delay in subsidies comes at time when some developers are facing delays from the state utilities in payments.
“The disbursement of capital subsidies is getting delayed since the market is growing very fast and we don’t have the resources to pay out. But we have been given the confidence that money will be released from the National Clean Energy Fund,” said Tarun Kapoor, secretary in the ministry of new and renewable energy.
editor@greentechlead.com