Adani scandal reveals issue faced by India's renewable energy ambitions
NEW DELHI: Bribery allegations against India's Adani Group founder Gautam Adani have revealed the growing problem faced by the country's push towards green energy of finding buyers for the power they generate.
Amid New Delhi's intention to shift away from polluting coal-fired generation towards solar and wind, officials say state government-owned power distribution companies responsible for keeping the lights on have dragged their heels over striking renewable purchase deals
The disclosure comes amid allegations by United States authorities against Adani alleging that the billionaire conspired to devise a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian state government officials to secure solar power supply deals after one of his companies was unable to secure buyers for a $6 billion project for several years — an allegation denied by the Adani Group.
The conglomerate is not alone in facing increasingly long delays in signing up buyers for the renewable electricity capacity which is now being developed in coal-dependent India which is the world's third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
Coal accounted for 75% of India's power generation during the year to the end of March, with renewables such as solar and wind, but not including hydro-electricity, making up about 12%.
India is still more than 10% short of its much-publicised pledge to add 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power by 2022.
That has led the federal government to ramp up bidding for renewable projects to meet an ambitious 2030 target of increasing its non-fossil fuel capacity to 500 gigawatts (GW).
In the five years to March 2028, it plans to tender for more than four times the capacity of renewable energy projects it commissioned in the preceding five