The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has released Rs 9 crore to make Chandigarh a solar city. Now the UT Administration will have to pump in a matching grant so that the project is completed under the Five Year Plan. This was stated by AP Shrivastava, president of Solar Energy Society of India (SESI), who was in city for a seminar on ‘Renewable Energy Sources for Inclusive Growth’. He said SESI has proposed to the Government of Indian that a Rs 20,000-crore solar fund should be created, from which subsidy could be given for sun-run projects.
Shrivastava said India receives 5,000 trillion KW solar energy per year that could be used to supplement energy requirement of about 30 per cent who do not have access to power. For 8 per cent GDP growth, 6 per cent increase in energy sector was required, he added. Rajya Sabha MP Mabell Rebello said inclusive growth was not possible till all sections of the society, especially people at the grass roots level, were involved. Presenting grim statistics, she said, “India has 2.4 per cent of the total land mass, but 17.4 per cent of the world’s population. About 70 per cent of the population India lived in villages, 50 per cent of which were not electrified.”
She said other states need to learn from a Jharkhand village, Jhargaon, which had cent per cent electrification through solar energy. From farm tubewells to cooking and lighting, everything runs on solar power. Asserting that political will was important in the renewable energy sector, she said for India’s development, which was not possible without sufficient power, first corruption at all levels has to end. Manoj Dutta, director of PEC University of Technology, said technology could be a solution to many problems. “We live in a world of opportunities, which have to be grabbed,” he added. Dr Patrick Noser from Switzerland’s Meyer Burger Technologies, said his country had much less sunlight than India, and if they could use solar energy to meet the power demand, then why not this country.
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