Green energies offer viable alternative: Venkaiah Naidu

He asks varsities to take up research on renewable energy

September 14, 2021 12:09 am | Updated 04:32 am IST - PUDUCHERRY

Venkaiah Naidu.

Venkaiah Naidu.

Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said green energies offered a viable alternative to meet the growing needs of the country while being sustainable in the long run.

Dedicating to the nation the 2.4 MW rooftop solar power plant commissioned in Pondicherry University, Mr. Naidu said that solar energy in particular had shown the most promise in recent years. This preference for solar plants and solar energy among institutions and people was a very good and welcome sign.

Referring to the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, he said it cautioned about the rise in global temperature exceeding 1.5 degrees celsius. “Climate change is not a futuristic phenomenon and we are already experiencing it. The next few years are going to be very crucial for our collective action to mitigate climate change,” he said.

Noting that India was endowed with vast solar potential, the Vice-President said the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) had assessed the country’s solar potential to be about 748 GW, assuming 3% of the wasteland area to be covered by solar PV modules. This was a great opportunity waiting to be explored to provide reliable electricity to our remote areas, to reduce carbon emissions and to achieve energy security.

India now had more than 40 GW of installed solar capacity thanks to sustained efforts by the government and private players. The country was ranked fifth globally in solar power capacity and was fast becoming the global leader in ‘energy transition’. “The country is now well placed to meet its committed renewable energy targets at the Paris Climate Conference by 2030,” he said.

Mr. Naidu also advocated the need to reduce dependency on imported solar components and to achieve self-reliance in solar modules and solar cells. “We have to quickly ramp up production by easing the setting up of manufacturing plants, publicising the subsidy programmes by the government and encouraging small players. States must take an active lead in this regard,” he said.

He also called upon universities to take up research work and projects on renewable energy. “My advice to educational institutions is to encourage students to take up final year projects and internships in the field of renewable energy and material sciences. This will not only improve their employment prospects but will also help in promoting innovations and improvements in the domestic solar industry.”

Lt. Governor Tamilsai Soundararajan, Chief Minister N. Rangasamy and Speaker R. Selvam were present.

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