India to have 80,000 MW of renewable energy by 2032: Muttembar

New Delhi, Nov 22 (UNI) The government today said the installed capacity of grid interactive renewable power will reach 80,000 MW from the existing 11,000 MW by 2032.

''By 2032, our renewable power capacity will reach 80,000 MW from 11,000 MW as of now, contributing to 10 per cent of the total energy generation in the country,'' New and Renewable Energy Minister Vilas Muttemwar said here through a written speech read out by his advisor Mr Sukumaran.

Speaking at the launch of ''Energy India-2007'' by industry body PHD Chamber, he said India has one of the largest programmes in renewable energy in the world.

''We are working for facilitating the implementation of a broad spectrum programme covering the entire range of new and renewable sources,'' he added.

In this regard, Mr Muttemwar said alternate fuels namely hydrogen, synthetic fuels and bio-fuels have been identified as thrust areas.

Meanwhile, the Minister assured the industry players the government was ''fully convinced'' about the need for involvement of the private sector in augmenting the generation in renewable space.

A bio-diesel policy was also under formulation to encourage the bio-fuels mainly in the transportation sector, he said.

India ranks fourth in the world in wind energy generation, which has an installed capacity of 7,700 MW.

In the solar energy segment, a collector area of about two million square metres have been installed for various applications, informed the Minister.

''We expect to add another 10 million square metres during the next five years,'' he said adding that thermal hot water systems are greatly encouraged and some states are mandating the use of such applications and also providing liberal tax incentives.

The Minister opined that there is significant opportunity in the industrial sector for producing electricity and thermal energy simultaneously in the co-generation mode and added that there is a potential for generation of about 15,000 MW through co-generation in various industries.

The chamber President Sanjay Bhatia said India's energy intensity per unit of GDP was higher than Japan, the US and Asia.

He also called for cutting down the consumption of fossil fuel for minimising the green house gas, that can be achieved only by seriously pursuing sustainable energy solutions.

UNI