Make India a global solar energy hub : PM
India’s prime minister urged global companies on Wednesday to make
the sun-baked South Asian nation a solar energy hub as the country seeks
to cut its chronic power shortages.
India, which has an average of 300 sunny days a year, sees solar
power as a potentially vital energy source that could be key to boosting
power supplies and reducing greenhouse gas emission in the world’s
third-worst carbon polluter.
“India is potentially a large market for production of such (solar)
equipment and it is also a potentially competitive, attractive
production base for supplying other countries,” Premier Manmohan Singh
told a global energy conference. “We therefore strongly encourage global
manufacturers to set up production facilities in this area,” Singh said
at the Fourth Clean Energy Ministerial meeting in New Delhi attended by
representatives of over 20 nations.
India is working urgently to develop alternative power sources and
wean itself away from polluting coal-fired generation to power an
economy that is expected to grow by at least six percent this financial
year.
It has just 551 megawatts of solar capacity installed currently,
according to government figures, and some 70 percent of the equipment
comes from abroad.
India’s National Solar Mission launched in 2010 aims to generate 20
gigawatts of solar power by 2022 -- equivalent to one-eighth of the
nation’s current installed power base.
The solar energy drive is also part of efforts to tackle frequent
power outages especially in rural India that economists say knock an
average 1.2 percentage points off annual growth.
But barriers to widespread introduction of solar power remain such as
lack of technology and subsidies to consumers.
Once installed, however, experts say the costs are low and are mainly
confined to maintenance.
The Indian government has unveiled draft legislation that would allow
the solar industry to obtain grants covering up to 40 percent of
installation costs.
AFP |