Birol in Delhi: IEA wants India to up RE capacity addition target

New Delhi: The International Energy Agency (IEA) has asked India to revise its renewable energy capacity addition targets in the coming years, executive director of IEA Fatih Birol said on Friday. Birol also said that the revision in targets would bring in more investments into the renewable energy sector.

India is currently targeting to set up 175 GW of renewable power, comprising mostly of solar energy by 2022. Union Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy RK Singh had last year said that at the current pace, India might surpass the target and settle around 225 GW.

Birol calls on RK Singh

Birol, who called on Singh on Friday, said that various issues came up for discussion during the meeting including a shift towards electric vehicles, renewable energy and battery and hydrogen storage.

He appreciated the efforts made for energy access under Saubhagya scheme and for energy efficiency under UJALA scheme. "Your achievements in energy access and in the distribution of LED bulbs are amazing and a big success story," he said, adding, "It changes the people's lives."