Page 283 - Low Carbon Development in China and India
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renewable energy sources to reduce dependence on fossil fuels
constitutes the objectives of the NCEF. The NCEF is being built up
using the cess imposed on both the domestically produced and
imported coal. This cess, which was earlier INR 50 per tonne of coal,
was increased to INR 100 per tonne in July 2014. At this price the cess
would have fetched INR 6,000 crore ever year.5 The cess has now
been doubled again to INR 200 per tonne on all forms of coal in the
Union Budget of 2015–16—this would add an approximate amount
of INR 12,000 crore (approx. USD 2 billion) annually for clean energy
initiatives. Box 2.1 presents projects that are eligible to be financed
through the NCEF.
Box 2.1: Projects eligible to be financed through the NCEF
According to the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Finance, the following initiatives
are eligible for financing under the National Clean Energy Fund.
• Development and demonstration of integrated community energy solutions, smart
grid technology, renewable applications with solar, wind, tidal, and geothermal
energy;
• Critical renewable energy infrastructure in areas such as silicon manufacturing;
• Replacing existing technology in energy generation with more environmentally
sustainable approaches;
• Environment management projects particularly in the geographical areas
surrounding energy sector projects;
• Renewable/alternate energy including advanced solar technologies, geothermal
energy, bio-fuels from cellulosic bio-mass/algae/any waste, offshore marine
technologies (wind, wave and tidal), onshore wind energy technologies, hydrogen,
and fuel cells;
• Clean fossil energy including power, oil, gas and coal technologies including
coal gasification, shale oil/ gas, lignite/coal bed methane, and advanced turbine
and technology for integrated gasification combined cycle power (IGCC) plants,
methane hydrates, enhanced recovery from unconventional resources and fossil
energy advanced research, carbon capture and sequestration, and carbon capture
and reformation;
• Basic energy sciences including energy storage for hybrid and plug-in electric
vehicles, solid state lighting, catalysis, biological and environmental research,
advanced computing, high energy and nuclear physics;
• Pilot and demonstration projects for commercialization of clean energy technologies;
• Projects identified under the eight missions of the National Action Plan on Climate
Change (NAPCC) and projects relating to R&D to replace existing technologies
5 http://www.livemint.com/Politics/7008Rw5aY79CmN9MEzqpcO/Govt-
uses-green-energy-fund-for-fiscal-balancing.html, last accessed on May 6, 2015.
248 Low Carbon Development in China and India
constitutes the objectives of the NCEF. The NCEF is being built up
using the cess imposed on both the domestically produced and
imported coal. This cess, which was earlier INR 50 per tonne of coal,
was increased to INR 100 per tonne in July 2014. At this price the cess
would have fetched INR 6,000 crore ever year.5 The cess has now
been doubled again to INR 200 per tonne on all forms of coal in the
Union Budget of 2015–16—this would add an approximate amount
of INR 12,000 crore (approx. USD 2 billion) annually for clean energy
initiatives. Box 2.1 presents projects that are eligible to be financed
through the NCEF.
Box 2.1: Projects eligible to be financed through the NCEF
According to the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Finance, the following initiatives
are eligible for financing under the National Clean Energy Fund.
• Development and demonstration of integrated community energy solutions, smart
grid technology, renewable applications with solar, wind, tidal, and geothermal
energy;
• Critical renewable energy infrastructure in areas such as silicon manufacturing;
• Replacing existing technology in energy generation with more environmentally
sustainable approaches;
• Environment management projects particularly in the geographical areas
surrounding energy sector projects;
• Renewable/alternate energy including advanced solar technologies, geothermal
energy, bio-fuels from cellulosic bio-mass/algae/any waste, offshore marine
technologies (wind, wave and tidal), onshore wind energy technologies, hydrogen,
and fuel cells;
• Clean fossil energy including power, oil, gas and coal technologies including
coal gasification, shale oil/ gas, lignite/coal bed methane, and advanced turbine
and technology for integrated gasification combined cycle power (IGCC) plants,
methane hydrates, enhanced recovery from unconventional resources and fossil
energy advanced research, carbon capture and sequestration, and carbon capture
and reformation;
• Basic energy sciences including energy storage for hybrid and plug-in electric
vehicles, solid state lighting, catalysis, biological and environmental research,
advanced computing, high energy and nuclear physics;
• Pilot and demonstration projects for commercialization of clean energy technologies;
• Projects identified under the eight missions of the National Action Plan on Climate
Change (NAPCC) and projects relating to R&D to replace existing technologies
5 http://www.livemint.com/Politics/7008Rw5aY79CmN9MEzqpcO/Govt-
uses-green-energy-fund-for-fiscal-balancing.html, last accessed on May 6, 2015.
248 Low Carbon Development in China and India
