PM’s climate change panel discusses roadmaps

Sources said the National Solar Mission,which has set an aggressive target of 20 gigawatts of electricity to be generation from solar energy by 2050,occupied most of the time of the meeting.

Harnessing of solar energy in a big way forms the core of India’s strategy to deal with climate change. The solar mission aims to cut down India’s emissions by 42 million tonnes by 2020 through a massive investment in solar-based industry amounting to nearly Rs one lakh crore.

It stresses on the need for making it mandatory for public and government buildings like hotels,hospitals and office complexes to install solar-powered equipment.

To facilitate this,the mission talks about bringing the cost of installing solar equipment from the current Rs 15 per kwh to Rs 4-5 per kwh in the next 10 years.

Sources said most members of the Council backed the recommendations made in the solar mission draft document and were of the view that there was hardly any option for India but to make an urgent and major shift to solar and other renewable sources of energy.