CRISIL SME Tracker: Lack of bankable projects drives ESCO credit woes

With the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy having implemented a range of schemes to add 175 Gw of renewable energy capacity by 2022, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), an undertaking of the Ministry of Power, has also been working in tandem to increase the energy efficiency of the Indian economy.

According to the BEE, the investment potential for energy efficiency projects in the country stands at Rs 1.50 lakh crore, concentrated in the residential, industrial and agricultural sectors. With energy saving companies (ESCOs)1 having tapped only five per cent of the market, a lack of bankable projects has hamstrung