India will double renewable energy capacity

Goal is to have a total capacity of 56,267 MW by 2017.

The government intends to add 30,000 MW of fresh generating capacity from renewable sources of energy during the 12th five-year plan (2012–17) to achieve this goal. India’s current renewable sources capacity stands at 26,267 MW,

Minister for New and Renewable Energy Dr Farooq Abdullah said the plan was to raise the share of renewable power from 6% to 8% of the country’s total generation capacity. A major part of renewable energy will come from thermal and hydropower sources.

Dr Abdullah said India’s installed solar energy capacity comes to 1,045 MW. He said a project named the Ladakh Renewable Energy Initiative aims to meet power requirement in Ladakh through local renewable sources. The project will establish solar power plants in 70 villages and 120 institutions.

The government is also implementing the Jawaharlal Nehru Solar Mission to promote the use of solar energy for power generation and other applications in the country. The mission sees the installation of 20,000 MW in RE capacity by 2022.