India Making Progress Towards Solar Targets

Online, December 14, 2010 (Newswire.com) - In 2009 India launched a plan to install 20 GW of solar capacity by 2020, and 100GW by 2030. This week Renewable Energy Secretary Deepak Gupta announced that this plan is on target. India is all set to incorporate 1.1 GW of solar energy by 2013 putting them right on track to achieve the 20 GW goal for 2020. The government has already issued contracts for projects scheduled to be completed in 2011 and has made calls for a further 920 MW of capacity.

China, India, and Malaysia are now leading the way for the manufacture of photo voltaic cells outside of Europe, and India's ambitious plan is helping to fuel the growth of the industry.
The cost of solar energy is still nearly nine times that of coal energy in the region, however Gupta has pledged to reduce the cost of solar to make it more competitive with traditional energy sources. A big part of India's goal according to Gupta is "to cut the price of solar power and spur the research and development of new renewable energy power projects in the region."

Minimum levels of renewably energy are required throughout India, and the legislature seems to be effective in promoting further developments.

Hank Mueller of Asian Green Technology Holdings sees India as a great opportunity for solar projects. "The country's economy is growing at an unbelievable rate, and moving into the next 10 years, it is likely that India will become one of the world's most dominant economies. Their energy consumption growth rates are out of control and the government is well aware of this. They need to stabilize their electric grid, and they have geographic regions that are perfectly suited for solar power generation. Because of this combined with talented Indian engineers being educated in every top school in the world, I expect that India will become one of the world's leaders in both the application and development of solar technology."

India is developing nation, but one that looks ready to take on the challenge of developing solar energy that is affordable and efficient.