The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH India on behalf of Germany signed an agreement on technical cooperation under the "Indo-German Energy Programme ? Green Energy Corridors (IGEN-GEC)" here.

 

This relationship between GIZ nad India will result in improved market mechanisms and regulations and help train manpower in India to ensure grid stability to ensure more and more integration of renewables in the country, Goyal said.

 

It "will lead to a safer grid, a more secured grid, a grid which can also take care of cyber challenges", he said. He was speaking at the signing of the agreement here. Goyal further said that Germany is a very reliable partner and has been supporting India in achieving its goal for sustainable development through bilateral cooperation for almost six decades now.

 

"India and Germany share a very active and dynamic engagement furthering the relations in variety of areas... Within this larger broader context of the Indo-German relationship, clean energy has a very important role to play," Goyal said.

 

GIZ and MNRE will work on improving market mechanisms and regulations for integration of renewable energies, advancing technical and institutional conditions in specified target states, regions and on a national level, adding human capacities to handle systemic (strategic, managerial, financial, technical) renewable energies integration in an efficient and effective manner. German Ambassador to India, H E Martin Ney, said, "When in July 2012, Power Grid Corporation of India submitted a comprehensive and well elaborated transmission plan for envisaged renewable capacity to MNRE, it paved the way for Indias ambitious goals to transform its power system by significantly increasing the share of renewable energies in the energy mix."

 

Both the countries have very constructive dialogue under the Indo-German Energy Forum (IGEF), Ney said. Based on the Indo-German consultations held in April 2013 in Berlin, both countries confirmed collaboration on the green energy corridors.

 

In the subsequent bilateral development cooperation negotiations, it was agreed that Germany will provide concessional loans of up to 1 billion euros through KfW (German Development Bank) and up to 10 million euros under technical assistance in forecasting, balancing, market design, network management and demand side energy efficiency, implemented by GIZ.

 

These contributions have been further increased in 2015 and 2016 by concessional loans up to 400 million euros for transmission infrastructure and up to 7 million euros for training activities in the photovoltaic solar rooftop sector and energy efficiency in residential buildings under technical assistance through GIZ.

 

For over 60 years, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has been working jointly with partners in India for sustainable economic, ecological, and social development. Currently, GIZ has over 330 employees in India, of whom 85 per cent are national personnel.