Bizmen
told to develop renewable energy
With
the steady growth in the Indian economy, the gap between
demand for energy and supply has further widened. “To
supplement our additional energy requirements, renewable
sources of energy have proved to be an attractive proposition,
said the Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy,
Vilas Muttewar.
He was
inaugurating a three-day Renewable Energy India 2008 Expo,
International Exhibition and Conference. Climate change
due to excessive use of non-renewable sources of energy
and its limitation has further increased the urgency of
finding environment friendly ways of generating energy.
Remembering late Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, the minister
said it was typical of late Prime Minister’s visionary
spirit and foresight that long before the depletion of traditional
resources of energy, he gave highest priority to harness
the tremendous potential of renewable energy.
Mr Muttewar
said, “our country is blessed with abundance of environment
friendly renewable resources such as solar, wind, biomass
and hydro”. Explaining potential of solar energy, he
said a major solution has been widely recognised. Since
energy is available in abundance and free of cost, the ministry
is trying to make solar power affordable through incentivising
its generation and research & development activities.
Efficient and quality energy systems are available for use
in rural, urban, commercial and industrial sector, he added.
The
most ambitious and entirely market-driven programme of wind
power has been highly successful, as India currently occupies
fourth position globally, with an installed capacity of
8.7 GW. In the Eleventh Five-year Plan, the ministry has
a target to achieve 14 GW energy through renewables. The
minister called upon the business community to avail financial
and fiscal incentives to develop wind power. He assured
that concessional import duty on certain components, excise
duty exemption and 10-years tax holiday on income generated
from wind power projects will continue to be extended to
the private players.
The
minister informed that 8,700 unelectrified villages have
been provided renewable energy under Rajiv Gandhi Gramin
Vidyutikaran Yojana by his ministry. Access to this electricity
will uplift and transfer socio-economic structure at grass-roots
level and migration from villages to cities will be stopped.
He also informed that the ministry has strengthened research
base and industrial infrastructure to keep pace with international
development. He appealed business community to give active
co-operation and participation in these efforts.
Deepak
Gupta, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy said
global warming is a real and significant threat to our health,
economy and environment. Energy conservation and development
of alternative sustainable energy resources such as wind
and solar power represent crucial investments in the future.
Wind energy is most advanced with a large installed capacity
worldwide, while biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel hold
promise. India has wind installations of 8,757 MW, which
is third largest in the world that includes both onshore
and offshore locations. It is pollution free and green energy,
he added. About solar energy, Mr Gupta said the Centre’s
move to offer fiscal incentives to solar cell and photovoltaic
(PV) manufacturers coupled with surge in global demand for
renewable energy resources has triggered domestic and multinational
companies to set up shop in India.
Regarding
hydropower potential, he added that India has fifth rank
in the world and yet it has developed less than 25 per cent
of its full potential. Various initiatives to accelerate
the development have been taken up in India to harness the
hydro potential, preparation of viable models for private
sector participation, facilitation for trading and participation
with other countries and execution of projects with inter-state
aspects by Central public sector unit. The challenge of
new and changing technologies is never ending. He expressed
hope that all participants will take advantage of this platform.
