New Delhi : The union government has asked states to expedite the implementation of renewable energy schemes to achieve the target of 500 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030.
The union minister of state for new & renewable energy, Bhagwanth Khuba on Tuesday chaired the review meeting in the national capital with states and union territories on the progress of renewable energy schemes and capacities, said an official statement.
Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, secretary, MNRE and Alok Kumar, secretary, union ministry of power were also present on the occasion. Principal secretaries (Energy) or secretaries of power and new & renewable energy from states and union territories besides senior officials from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Power Grid Cooperation, Power Finance Cooperation, Rural Electrification Corporation, CTU, Grid Controller of India, Ministry of Power and MNRE attended the meeting.
The status of progress under the schemes/programmes such as Solar Parks Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) Scheme, Rooftop Solar Programme, Green Energy Corridor, National Bioenergy Programme and National Green Hydrogen Mission was reviewed in detail in the all-day meeting.
The issues and challenges on implementation of these programmes were deliberated and various measures suggested by states were discussed.
“The states were further requested to expedite the implementation of all RE schemes in a time bound manner to achieve the RE 2030 target,” the statement said.
Minister of state Bhagwant Khuba highlighted that the energy sector plays a major role in deciding the future of India. The ministry of power and ministry of new & renewable energy are working in unison on a number of initiatives, including increasing the domestic manufacturing of solar PV modules and increasing the transmission capacity.
Bhupinder Singh said that the renewable energy capacity of 172 GW has already been installed and close to 129 GW is either under implementation or has been tendered. The total installed capacity would be 301 GW, leaving around 200 GW capacity to be added in order to achieve the target of 500 GW capacity from non-fossil fuels, he said.
He noted that the role of states becomes critical and they have to facilitate installation of renewable energy plants by providing infrastructure such as land, water, and other amenities, law and order for safety of personnel and plants, issue conducive policies and regulations among others.
Alok Kumar, secretary, ministry of power said that the energy transition is a given reality and we have been discussing it in G20 meetings as well primarily due to climate change impact, energy security and reducing our import dependence.
He said that the power ministry is working on adding transmission capacity for evacuating 500 GW power, enhancing the storage capacity through Pumped Storage Projects (PSP) and battery storage, market development for procurement of power through market-based instruments, and integrating the RE plan with Resource Adequacy Plans.
Source: PTI
