Cost of Renewable Energy Projects

The cost of renewable energy power generation in India is competitive compared to the cost in other countries. In India, the solar power installation cost has reduced significantly over last three years. The installation cost of wind power projects in India is also competitive in comparison of other countries. This was stated by Sh. Piyush Goyal, Minister of state for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy (Independent Charge) in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. The Minister further stated that the India has signed 39 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) / Agreements in the field of Renewable Energy, under which there are a number of Joint Working Groups (JWG). The cooperation also includes issues of developing renewable energy sources in the country. The 12th Five Year Plan targets a cumulative renewable power installed capacity of 55 GW by end of March 2017. Rs.19,113/- Crore has been allocated in the Five Year Plan for the purpose, the Minister added.

Installation of Solar Water Pumps

Image courtesy: agricorner.com

The Government has proposed a programme for installation of one lakh solar pumps for irrigation and drinking water purposes across the country. This was stated by Sh. Piyush Goyal, Minister of state for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy (Independent Charge) in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today. He said a total number of 11626 solar pumps have already been installed in the various parts of the country till 31/03/2014. A total of 14788.45 lakh rupees have been sanctioned for solar pumps under “Off grid and Decentralized Solar Applications’’ scheme of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission to 12 states.

10,000 MW Power through Solar Energy by 2017

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has set a target of generation of 10,000 Megawatt of power through solar energy by the year 2017. Addressing the Solar Power Developers Meet in the Capital, the Minister for New and Renewable Energy Dr. Farooq Abdullah said that the Phase I of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission has been very successful wherein 1685 MW of solar power was generated as against the target of 11,000 MW. The Minister informed that large tracks of land have been identified in Rajasthan, Kargil and Ladakh which have immense potential of generation of solar power. Dr. Abdullah said that the main challenge was starting a transmission line in the areas of Kargil and Ladakh so that power could be evacuated to the other parts of the country. He also focused on the need for breakthrough in new research to ensure storage of solar energy for greater time period. The Minister highlighted the new initiatives for ensuring greater use of solar power in the Government buildings and also said that the Ministry planned to use mobile towers in a way that they could generate power through solar and wind energy. On this occasion, the Minister gave awards to 13 organisations / companies for having done commendable work in the first phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. He expressed the hope that the corporate sector will continue to contribute in a major way to the efforts of the Government in making India one of the leading producers of solar energy. Mr. Ratan P.Watal, Secretary, MNRE, highlighted importance of development of solar power for meeting the solar requirements of around 40% of the population which lacked access to energy resources. Even providing one unit of power to such houses throughout the year would in itself need a generation of 15,000 MW of solar power. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission was launched on 11th January, 2010 by the Prime Minister. The Mission has set the ambitious target of deploying 20,000 MW of grid connected solar power by 2022. The Mission has targeted a capacity of grid connected solar power generation of 1000 MW within three years of its launch and to reach installed power capacity of 10,000 MW by the year 2017. The target of 20,000 MW for 2022, which if successful, could lead to conditions of grid-competitive solar power.