Karnataka Can Sign EOIs to Bring Rs. 61,000 cr investments in Renewable Energy

Karnataka may witness a fresh slew of renewable energy development as the government owned Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL) may sign 9 Expressions of Interest (EOI) with 9 renewable energy investors. This is expected to be done at Windergy – 2022, a three day conference in New Delhi on currently. The exercise is expected to fetch Karnataka RE investments worth ₹61,000 crore. This investment will be enough to increase the renewable capacity of Karnataka by 9.2 GW.

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Tata Power, Torrent Power and ReNew Power are some of the investors who can sign expressions of interest with the Karnataka government. The official statement of Karnataka says that the 9.2GW increase in renewables due to the anticipated investments will also generate 12,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities.

Additional Chief Secretary, Energy Department, Karnataka Government, S.G. Kumar Naik, says that KREDL believes that Wind Power Potential Report which maps taluk wise wind energy potential in Karnataka will attract greater investments in the state.

Recently, KREDL had proposed to generate 10GW of renewable energy in Karnataka, which is up from the present 6GW, in the period of 2022-27. The key focus of Karnataka government for the renewable additions will be on solar, wind, hybrid and green hydrogen projects.

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In January – March quarter, Karnataka had commissioned 54 MW of wind energy.

With a share of 52% energy from renewable sources in March 2022, Karnataka leads in renewable energy use among large states, something that has helped it avoid the risks of crippling cuts so far, even as coal shortages loom over thermal production, the mainstay for most of the larger states in India.

Karnataka's next stage of renewable capacity additions could actually make the state a net exporter of energy, provided enough storage options are also created.