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Amidst the chaos seen in the power sector, with 22,000 MW thermal power projects lying idle for the need of coal or gas and lenders taking power generating assets to National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to recover dues, the transmission sector- with longer life cycle and lower risks- has exhibited the only ray of hope for investors and developers alike.

Manoj Gupta, Vice President-Solar Business, Fortum India opines most of the financing received for the renewable energy development comes from the domestic banks. However, with the current level of fund generation, it is difficult to sustain solar energy goals.

India is the world's third largest producer and fourth largest consumer of electricity. With such a large size and being a capital intensive business, it has got its own importance.

Even as the role of renewables progressively increases India overall energy mix, the policymakers must not lose sight of the very significant role that coal plays in the country economy, avers Andrew DeLeone, Managing Director, GE Power India. He recommends that the country must leverage its cost competitiveness to set-up low emission thermal power plants overseas by offering attractive financing options.

Balraj Joshi is the Chairman and Managing Director of NHPC since September 22, 2017 and has served as its Director of Technical from March 23, 2018 to July 5, 2018

In an interview, DV Giri, Secretary General, Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association said that in 2018-19 with the dependence on the SECI bids that have an 18 months project period, and bids from Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra will see the installation of around 2,000-2,500 MW in FY19, further adding that the turnaround will start from 2019-20 and the future is good for the industry.

The evacuation for the wind power projects can be resolved through better planning and co-ordination amongst various agencies, i.e., PGCIL, SECI, NTPC, MNRE and MoP. It is important that evacuation issues are addressed before bidding for the renewable power projects starts, instead of solving the issue after bidding, says Salil Garg, Director-Corporate, India Ratings.

The domestic manufacturers have had a long history of conflict against the imported solar components as foreign (Chinese) suppliers continued dumping solar components in India at a much lower rate than the existing market price. Therefore, the domestic manufacturers requesting the Government of India to safeguard the domestic industry growth was quite a valid appeal.