Almost 12 per cent of the energy generated in India is through renewable sources, comprising small hydro, bio-mass, wind and solar power. Now, the Government is keen that electricity produced from large hydro should be included in this category so that the share of renewables in the overall energy mix rises to about 31 per cent, stressed Gireesh Pradhan, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
He was addressing officials from about 50 Israeli renewable energy companies and members of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce in Tel Aviv, on his maiden visit to the country.
Growing demand
At the meet, with representatives from both the Indian and Israeli Governments, India has sought Israel’s expertise in the renewable energy sector to meet its ambitious target of 30,000 MW of power over the next five years.
Stating that 40 per cent of the Indian population does not have access to energy, Pradhan spoke about India’s ambitious plans to generate another 30,000 MW of grid-connected projects by 2017, which would take the country to 55,000 MW from renewable sources of energy.
Off-grid solutions
Incidentally, of India’s existing 25.857 GW of installed renewable energy, 17.967 is wind-generated, 3.412 from biomass, 3.434 from small hydroelectric and 1.044 from solar-powered sources. Increasing the presence of solar facilities, as well as biomass, hydroelectric and wind structures, would help the Indian Government achieve its target of grid parity by 2022.
In order to accomplish this, the Minister said the Indian Government was issuing subsidies related to off-grid solar development in rural communities; reducing custom fees and excise duties and providing tax exemptions for imported machinery.