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Boosting solar investment with limited subsidies: Rent management and policy learning in India

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  • Altenburg, Tilman
  • Engelmeier, Tobias

Abstract

In order to avoid irreversible damage to global ecosystems, new ‘green’ technologies are needed, some of which are nowhere near commercial maturity. In these cases, governments may create temporary rents to make investments ‘artificially’ attractive, but the creation of such rents involves risks of faulty allocation and political capture. This article first highlights the importance of managing rents effectively in promoting ‘green’ technologies; it then shows how India's National Solar Mission has been remarkably effective in triggering solar investments and managing the necessary subsidies, e.g. through a process of competitive reverse bidding for tariffs. Policy design and implementation also reflect considerable experimentation and learning. Some risks remain, especially regarding the enforceability of renewable energy quotas at the level of Indian states.

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  • Altenburg, Tilman & Engelmeier, Tobias, 2013. "Boosting solar investment with limited subsidies: Rent management and policy learning in India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 866-874.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:59:y:2013:i:c:p:866-874
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.04.055
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    12. Harilal Krishna & Yash Kashyap & Dwarkeshwar Dutt & Ambuj D. Sagar & Abhishek Malhotra, 2023. "Understanding India’s low-carbon energy technology startup landscape," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 94-105, January.
    13. Quitzow, Rainer, 2015. "Assessing policy strategies for the promotion of environmental technologies: A review of India's National Solar Mission," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 233-243.
    14. Daquan Gao & Christina W. Y. Wong & Kee-hung Lai, 2023. "Development of Ecosystem for Corporate Green Innovation: Resource Dependency Theory Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-28, March.
    15. Umamaheswaran, Swarnalakshmi & Rajiv, Seth, 2015. "Financing large scale wind and solar projects—A review of emerging experiences in the Indian context," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 166-177.
    16. Wong, Chan-Yuan & Fatimah Mohamad, Zeeda & Keng, Zi-Xiang & Ariff Azizan, Suzana, 2014. "Examining the patterns of innovation in low carbon energy science and technology: Publications and patents of Asian emerging economies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 789-802.
    17. Münch, Florian Anselm & Marian, Adela, 2022. "The design of technical requirements in public solar auctions: Evidence from India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    18. Rohankar, Nishant & Jain, A.K. & Nangia, Om P. & Dwivedi, Prasoom, 2016. "A study of existing solar power policy framework in India for viability of the solar projects perspective," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 510-518.
    19. Bai, Rui & Lin, Boqiang & Liu, Xiying, 2021. "Government subsidies and firm-level renewable energy investment: New evidence from partially linear functional-coefficient models," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    20. Behuria, Pritish, 2020. "The politics of late late development in renewable energy sectors: Dependency and contradictory tensions in India’s National Solar Mission," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    21. -, 2020. "Building a New Future: Transformative Recovery with Equality and Sustainability," Libros y Documentos Institucionales, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 46228 edited by Eclac.
    22. Jeon, Chanwoong & Lee, Jeongjin & Shin, Juneseuk, 2015. "Optimal subsidy estimation method using system dynamics and the real option model: Photovoltaic technology case," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 33-43.
    23. Kar, Sanjay Kumar & Sharma, Atul & Roy, Biswajit, 2016. "Solar energy market developments in India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 121-133.

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