Strapline: State’s 250 MW solarized highway project is among the initiative taken by the government as a part of climate action
The coastal state has secured the Inspiring Regional Leadership Award from Under2 Coalition for Climate Action. The State Environment Minister, Aditya Thackeray, was present at the event to receive the award. Maharashtra sent entries for all three categories of U2 – Inspiring Regional Leadership, Creative Climate Solutions (won by British Columbia, Canada), and Climate Partnerships (won by Quebec, Canada).
Maharashtra is looking forward to investing in clean energy whilst steering away from conventional energy sources (like thermal and coal). The state government has introduced solar highways capable of generating about 250 MW of energy.
While speaking at the Under2 Coalition, the largest global network of states and regions committed to climate action, the minister said, “Just recently we’ve solarised a highway, and we will be generating 250 MW of energy. We have put out the tender document, and we will be generating 250MW solar energy from the new highway between Mumbai and Nagpur.”
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“My name Aditya also means the sun, and in India, we have been worshipping the Sun God as the seed of the universe. In most of our ancient texts, the Sun God holds a primary position.”
Aditya Thackeray, Maharashtra Environment Minister
To become the only Indian state to win one of the three awards by U2 in Scotland, other initiatives were taken too. Speaking about other initiatives, he said, “We have started with a movement called Majhi Vasundhara, which means My Planet. We are focussing on the traditional five elements of nature.”
Additionally, to address climate change at an international level, the state has joined the ‘UN Race to Zero’ initiative and the ‘C40 Cities’ initiative.
