It was heartening - and worrying - to see the heap of letters of commitment to the prime minister from 200-odd Indian and foreign companies to set up 266 GW of wind, solar and other renewable energy projects in India.

Heartening, because if we do indeed set up all these projects, India will definitely have surplus power. A lot of it. To put it in perspective, India's entire power-generating capacity currently stands at just 230 GW. The nation, then, will be in a position to engage in soft diplomacy with some of our neighbours by selling surplus power to them. Perhaps, even attempt to improve relations with Pakistan, which is seeing up to 16-20 hours of power cuts in some cities and towns. Worrying, because, for one, there is no deadline, and, two, a majority of the announcements appears to have been made to humour the prime minister and the government and may never see the light of day - literally. Sun Edison, which operates solar plants totalling 100 MW, has committed 10,000 MW of solar and 5,200 MW of wind power plants. Axis Wind Energy, whose website is under construction, has committed the second-highest, 12,500 MW of renewable energy. And the list goes on?

Heartening, because the energetic Power and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal appears to be a hands-on minister, determined to make a mark in this government. Worrying, because he is acting like a schoolteacher. "The commitment of 266,000 MW is far in excess of our plans," he said, adding, "I am going to hold each company responsible for meeting these commitments. In fact, I've given them a one-week window, because I don't want them going back on their commitments later." The question is: How will he force them to set up projects they have committed? Importantly, will they be penalised for not setting up projects if they don't find them viable, and how?

It's heartening to see the enormous interest in India's brand new renewable energy push. It gives India leverage in climate negotiations with the West that wants us to reduce our carbon footprint. It's worrying because, clearly, several PSUs have either been coaxed or cajoled into making announcements. Or their CMDs are out to appease the powers-that-be while looking for their next lucrative assignment rather than focusing on the financial health and well being of the PSUs they manage. Together, the PSUs have committed 8,570 MW of projects. At an average of Rs 7 crore per MW, that's Rs 59,990 crore. That's a lot of money. It should rather go into the businesses they are mandated to carry out. Why, for instance, is the state-run NHPC, whose statutory mandate is to set up hydro-electric plants, going to set up 350 MW of solar and 80 MW of wind projects? Some others have been more realistic. Union Bank of India will set up a 9 MW solar project. Rashtriya Chemical and Cochin Shipyard propose 2 MW and 1 MW solar projects, respectively.

And we haven't even begun to discuss the numerous other challenges before these projects such as land acquisition, grid connectivity, financing. Most importantly, their viability and payback period.

Hopefully, India will take more heart than worry from the goings on. But a reality check is in order, for sure.