Is China a Threat to Indian Industry
KOLKATA: Renewable energy has huge potential to provide solution to increase energy crisis and it is the key factor to the future of energy, food and economic security, said participants at a seminar organized by GREENTECH and BNCCI.
"We are a growing economy. So our energy requirement is also growing. But we don't produce enough energy to meet even our current needs. With depleting fossil fuel reserves and concerns about its environmental impact, renewable energy is the only long-term solution," said Bibek Bandhopadhyay, advisor at the ministry of new and renewable energy.
At present, India's installed power capacity is 2,10,645 MW with renewable energy contributing 26,900 MW or 12.4%. From various energy technologies, a capacity addition of about 30,000 MW has been planned during the 12th Plan period 2012-2017. The focus is now on mainstreaming renewable energy technologies so that it becomes cost-effective. Of this, 69% is generation from wind and 4.5% from solar.
Incidentally, India was the first country to set up a ministry of non-conventional energy resources in the early 1980s.
India is densely populated and has high solar insolation, an ideal combination for using solar power in India. Much of the country does not have an electric grid, so one of the first applications of solar power has been for water pumping, to begin replacing India's 4-5 million diesel powered water pumps, each consuming about 3.5 kilowatts, and off-grid lighting. Some large projects have been proposed, and a 35,000 sq km area of the Thar desert has been set aside for solar power projects, sufficient to generate 700 to 2,100 GW.
The Indian Solar Loan Programme, supported by the United Nations Environment Programme has won the prestigious Energy Globe World award for sustainability for helping to establish a consumer financing program for solar home power systems. Over the span of three years more than 16,000 solar home systems have been financed through 2,000 bank
"We are a growing economy. So our energy requirement is also growing. But we don't produce enough energy to meet even our current needs. With depleting fossil fuel reserves and concerns about its environmental impact, renewable energy is the only long-term solution," said Bibek Bandhopadhyay, advisor at the ministry of new and renewable energy.
At present, India's installed power capacity is 2,10,645 MW with renewable energy contributing 26,900 MW or 12.4%. From various energy technologies, a capacity addition of about 30,000 MW has been planned during the 12th Plan period 2012-2017. The focus is now on mainstreaming renewable energy technologies so that it becomes cost-effective. Of this, 69% is generation from wind and 4.5% from solar.
Incidentally, India was the first country to set up a ministry of non-conventional energy resources in the early 1980s.
India is densely populated and has high solar insolation, an ideal combination for using solar power in India. Much of the country does not have an electric grid, so one of the first applications of solar power has been for water pumping, to begin replacing India's 4-5 million diesel powered water pumps, each consuming about 3.5 kilowatts, and off-grid lighting. Some large projects have been proposed, and a 35,000 sq km area of the Thar desert has been set aside for solar power projects, sufficient to generate 700 to 2,100 GW.
The Indian Solar Loan Programme, supported by the United Nations Environment Programme has won the prestigious Energy Globe World award for sustainability for helping to establish a consumer financing program for solar home power systems. Over the span of three years more than 16,000 solar home systems have been financed through 2,000 bank