Minister for Environment and Forests Bojjala Gopalakrishna Reddy stressed the need for realising the full potential of solar energy for giving the future generation a clean environment and avoiding huge expenditure on fossil fuels. Delivering the inaugural address at a seminar ‘Solar Biz’ organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and A.P Technology Development and Promotion Centre (AP-TDC) here on Friday, Mr. Reddy said Andhra Pradesh became a leader in the power sector due to the untiring efforts of Energy Department under the leadership of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. The State was committed to tapping renewable energy to the maximum extent possible and achieved significant progress in solar energy generation and equipment manufacturing.
The solar energy parks coming up in Rayalaseema, particularly the world’s largest ones being set up in Anantapur and Kurnool districts, were a great leap forward for the State which had gone through ‘power holidays’ due to a yawning gap between demand and supply.
Government of A.P’s former Special Chief Secretary and APTDC Honorary Adviser S. Chakravarthy said the massive network of canals in Krishna, Guntur and the two Godavari districts offered a tremendous opportunity for putting up solar panels. A substantial quantity of solar power could be generated by covering the canals with the solar photovoltaic modules.
Source:thehindu
