 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
India's solar plan moves ahead
New Delhi (UPI) Aug 3, 2009 The draft of India's ambitious National Solar Mission plan, aimed at reducing emissions and easing the country's crippling power shortages, was endorsed in principle today by the prime minister's Council on Climate Change, Press Trust of India reports. India, the world's fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, would reduce its reliance on dirty coal under the plan. India's solar power generating capacity would jump from its current near-zero level to 20 gigawatts by 2020, to 100 gigawatts by 2030 and 200 gigawatts by 2050. India's crippling power shortage represents one of the largest obstacles to economic growth, leaving some 400 million Indians without electricity amid daily blackouts. According to India's Power Ministry, electricity demand outstripped supply by 13.8 percent during peak hours in 2008-2009. Under the draft plan, the cost of solar power would be reduced to the same level as fossil fuels. India has abundant supplies of coal but relies on imports for 70 percent of its crude oil and 50 percent of its gas. The three-phase National Solar Mission "would be the most ambitious solar plan that any country has laid out so far," said Siddharth Pathak, a climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace India, The New York Times reported in June. Under the plan, India would spend $18.5 billion to $22.8 billion over a 30-year period, to be financed in part by taxes on government-subsidized gasoline and diesel. According to the draft plan, the objective of Phase I (2009-2012), for example, "will be to achieve rapid scale up to drive down costs, to spur domestic manufacturing and to validate the technological and economic viability of different solar applications." India's target is 1 million rooftop solar energy systems and solar lighting for 20 million households by 2020. The plan would involve micro-financing initiatives, including a payback system for surplus solar power fed back into the grid. The National Solar Mission plan calls for India to invest $23 billion for developing, manufacturing and installing solar technology over the next 30 years. India has the potential to reduce its emissions by almost 60 million tons a year under the plan and save approximately 1.05 billion liters of diesel, a billion liters of kerosene and 350 million liters of fuel oil each year by 2020. "India's putting a very strong argument in front of developed countries that it has huge potential for renewable energy," said Pathak of Greenpeace, the Times of London reported Monday. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links All About Solar Energy at SolarDaily.com
Laid off auto workers learn to install solar panelsDearborn, MI (AFP) Aug 2, 2009 In a crowded classroom at Henry Ford Community College, laid off auto workers are learning how to install and manage solar panels. The class is part of a new alternative energy technology program the college created to help retrain the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the collapse of the auto industry. "Everybody is scrambling," said Linda West, director of workforce developme ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook