Centre announces new solar policy

New Delhi, Nov 23 (ANI): Union Government on Monday announced a new solar policy to help the development of solar energy in he country.

Announcing the government decision in the Lok Sabha Union New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah the Solar Mission is in line with the vision of modern India of Pandit Nehru.

The new solar policy is known as Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission - "Solar India."

The Mission is one of the eight key National Missions that comprise India's National Action Plan on Climate Change.

"It has a twin objective - to contribute to India's long term energy security as well as its ecological security," Abdullah said.

"The Solar Mission recommends the implementation in three stages leading up to an installed capacity of 20,000 MW by the end of the 13th Five Year Plan in 2022," he added.

Abdullah also informed the house that the government has approved setting up of 1,100 MW of grid solar power and 200 MW capacity of off-grid solar applications utilizing both solar thermal and photovoltaic technologies in the first phase of the Mission.

He also added that the Mission would also focus on research and development and human resource development and strengthen indigenous skills and enhance indigenous content to make the Mission sustainable.

"The mission will have a very focused research and development programme which seeks to address the India-specific challenges in promoting solar energy," Abdullah said.

"Mission will establish a single window investor-friendly mechanism, which reduces risk and at the same time, provides an attractive, predictable and sufficiently extended tariff for the purchase of solar power for the grid," he added. (ANI)