India Could Attract $10 Billion Of Low-Carbon Energy Investments In 2023

India could attract some $10 billion in low-carbon energy investments next year, Bank of America analysts have estimated, noting the subcontinent as a bright spot in a subdued capital-raising market.

“If you really have to get your ESG story right, and if you are into energy, then you can do large pieces of work in India,” Kaku Nakhate, president and country head of the Indian division of the bank, told Bloomberg.

“People take us seriously,” Nakhate added. “That’s why we are seeing more sustainability funds that want to invest in India.”

Electric vehicles and green hydrogen are among the areas of most interest in the broader clean energy area, she also said.

In addition, the top executive expects India to reap the benefits of the so-called friend-shoring drive, emerging in the West as companies still struggle to right supply chains disrupted by the pandemic and rearrange them in such a way as to make them more resilient to potential future shocks.

In both low-carbon energy and other sectors, India is winning investors over as borrowing costs elsewhere rise and instability increases while the subcontinent appears to be an island of stability, Bloomberg noted in its report.

In fact, according to Invest India, a government agency that promotes investment in the country, India is the third most popular destination for clean energy investments in the world.

Like its neighbor China, India has ambitious renewable energy goals although it has been slower than China in achieving them. For this year, for instance, India plans to have an installed capacity of 175 GW of low-carbon energy. This should rise to 500 GW by 2030.

The potential for renewable energy in the country has been estimated at over 1,000 GW. However, with rising costs in the wind and solar industries, and looming shortages of critical metals, India, like the rest of the world, could see its net-zero ambitions compromised or delayed.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

• Russia Bets On Growing ‘Dark Fleet’ To Ship Its Oil
• House Democrats Accuse Big Oil Of Greenwashing
• Erdogan Discusses Grain, Energy Issues With Russia And Ukraine