Banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) have sanctioned 71,201 crores to finance renewable energy projects and disbursed 29,529.57 crores between February 2015 and March 21, 2016, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy said on Monday. The sanctioned amount accounts for 18.63 percent of the total commitments made during the renewable energy investment summit Re-Invest 2015, hosted by the Ministry. An official statement said the loans have been sanctioned and disbursed by 40 major banks and NBFCs, which also gave the commitment to finance 78.75 GW or 78,750 MW of renewable energy projects over five years. "The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has been getting monthly status reports on achievements made so far by the banks and NBFCs who have given commitments to finance bankable renewable energy projects," the statement added. The Government has set a target of 175 GW of renewable energy generation capacity by 2022. "Achieving this target requires a capital outlay of $160 billion, including equity of $40 billion. In addition, huge investment is required for transmission, upgradations of infrastructure in order to utilize power generated through renewable sources. Banks and NBFCs have to play a major role to provide low cost and long-term financing for these projects," the statement said