India a key partner in renewable energy: UK minister

India is a key strategic partner in the UK’s effort to promote renewable energy and tackle climate change, according to United Kingdom’s minister of state for climate change Gregory Barker.

“There are many opportunities for the India and UK governments to stand shoulder to shoulder on much of the effort to build confidence of business and investors in the renewable energy sector,” Barker said in a speech during his visit to wind power major Suzlon’s global headquarters here on Wednesday.

Barker was in to Pune as part of his visit to India to see how private sector investment can be encouraged in India to tackle climate change. In Delhi on Tuesday, the minister announced that the UK government is providing 6 million pound to help bring down the costs of solar power and unlock private sector funding for solar energy projects in India.

He said major banks and investiors in London have been talking with people here about the barriers to scaling up investment in the renewables sector,” he said.

Barker was all praise for Indian government’s public policy regime for renewables in general and wind in specific. “India has cutting edge innovation, with policies like ‘wheeling and banking’, accelerated depriciation, generation-based incectives and the new tradable renewable energy certificates,” he said.