Shri Pradip Kumar Das CMD of IREDA addressed the Indian Forest Service officers today

Underlining the importance of forest cover, he stated that integrating technological innovation with current sustainable practices can be an effective tool.

Shri Pradip Kumar Das CMD of IREDA addressed the Indian Forest Service officers today
Shri Pradip Kumar Das CMD of IREDA (PSU Connect)

New Delhi: Shri Pradip Kumar Das, Chairman & Managing Director (CMD), Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) today addressed the Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers during the two day’s training program on “Renewable Energy Management” at “Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Co-Operative Management” (VAMNICOM), Pune.
Talking to the participants, CMD, IREDA emphasized that India has large forest areas which, if sustainably managed, can be used as a source of Bioenergy. Traditional Bioenergy such as fuelwood, charcoal, dung etc. are still widely used in an unsustainable and unsafe manner for cooking and heating purposes. However, large-scale modern facilities and technologies now exist that can effectively convert wood and Agri / forest residues for Heating/ Cooking and power generation purposes, that would also give boost to the rural economy.
Highlighting that the dream of India becoming a developed economy cannot be achieved without the development of the rural economy as well as generating employment in rural India, Mr. Das said that in realizing this vision, Renewable Energy can also play a key role addressing certain issues of the Agriculture Sector such as Installation of 10,000 MW of Decentralized Ground Mounted Grid Connected Renewable Energy Power Plants by Farmers under PM KUSUM Scheme, Installation of 17.50 lakh standalone Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps, these would boost the overall dynamics of the Agriculture Sector.
CMD, IREDA also highlighted the contributions of IREDA for the Bio Energy sector and briefed the participants on IREDA’s specific schemes like financing of Biomass Power, Cogeneration Projects, Briquetting/ Pelletization, Production of Ethanol, support for Compressed Bio Gas (CBG), Biomass Fuel Supply chains etc. He further said, the Govt. of India is also encouraging the use of biofuels and I am sure that it will increase the green energy mix, reduce imports, generate employment and reduce pollution.
Underlining the importance of forest cover, he stated that integrating technological innovation with current sustainable practices can be an effective tool.
He also enlightened the participants on the project appraisal parameters & financial indicators like average Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR), project Internal Rate of Return (IRR), payback period and asset coverage ratio etc., along with challenges being faced by RE industry & ways for better monitoring of projects to reduce NPAs. Speaking on the major challenges, he emphasized that backtracking of PPAs could adversely impact the sentiments of RE investors & the cash flow cycle of the projects. He also highlighted that due to online reverse auction, Solar and Wind sectors have seen record low tariffs, i.e. INR 2.36/Unit for solar & INR 2.43/unit for wind, ensuring quality at the low tariff regime becomes a challenge.
Concluding his interactive session, CMD wished for successful completion of the training program and reaffirm IREDA’s commitment to creating awareness amongst stakeholders, as IREDA will continue to play developmental role, apart from financing of renewable energy projects in the country.
Further, CMD, IREDA also addressed the faculty and students of VAMNICOM conferencing. In his interaction, he motivated the students to increase their fitness level in order to counter the COVID-19 and also to improve efficiency and effectiveness in personal and professional life. He also guided the students that how they can play a pivotal role in the development of agriculture economy. The total employment opportunities in the RE sector is anywhere between 5,00,000 to 7,00,000 directly and more than 5 million indirectly and mostly the job has come up in Rural areas. In future a lot of employment opportunities can also be generated with the growth of RE in Rural India.

 

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