India Sets 10GW Solar Target by 2017

(Carin Hall, energydigital.com)

India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has set a target of 10GW by 2017. This ambitious goal outweighs current American solar power capacity, which is 9370 MW of solar capacity in the US (http://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-industry-data). One of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission has produced 1685 MW of generated solar power, higher than the initial target of 1100 MW. The minister of New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdulla said although large tracks of land had been identified for solar potential, the distribution of power to other parts of the country remains challenging.

The Indian government launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National solar Mission in 2010 with the goals of deploying 20 GW of solar power by 2022. The initiative made a goal to generate 1GW within three years of its launch and to reach an installed power capacity of 10 GW by 2017. If it becomes successful, it could lead to conditions of grid-competitive solar power in the country. Gujarat is now planning to add 20 MW of additional canal-top solar capacity by developing a project on the Narmada branch canal network in Vadodara. In addition to the residential rooftops, the second phase of the mission includes about 20 MW of solar power to be used for Narmada irrigation canal and high-speed pumps. 

Recently, India has introduced the plan to use solar power in government buildings. The ministry also planned to sue mobile towers to generate through solar and wind energy. Ratan P. Watal, New and Renewable Energy Ministry secretary emphasized the significance of solar development to meet the increasing demand of energy. Currently, approximately 40% of Indian population lacks access to energy resources. Even providing one unit of power to such homes throughout the year would would require 15 GW of solar power due to lack of power distribution technologies.