Farooq Abdullah calls for push to renewable energy projects

New Delhi, June 23 (ANI): Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Dr. Farooq Abdullah, called upon Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other multilateral agencies to considerably step up their support to renewable energy projects in developing countries.

Speaking at the Asia Clean Energy Forum organized by the ADB at its headquarters in Manila, Dr. Abdullah highlighted that India today stands among the top five countries of the world in terms of renewable energy capacity with an installed base of over 15 GW, which is around nine per cent of India's total power generation capacity.

He spoke of the role of the renewable energy in promoting inclusive growth and explained the various projects initiated by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in providing energy access to remote and hill communities of Gurez, Jammu and Kashmir and the forested regions of Madhya Pradesh.

He also spoke of India's flagship programme - The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission and called up the ADB to step up its engagement both in the public and private spheres.

He also emphasized the need for easier transfer of technology in the field of renewable energy and welcomed the initiative of the ADB in setting up a technology transfer exchange to examine the issue.

Earlier, Dr. Abdullah called on Haruhiko Kuroda, President of the ADB.

During the meeting, the two dignitaries discussed various issues relating to renewable energy.

Dr. Abdullah urged the President to support demonstration projects under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission and also requested him for creating a guarantee facility for banks for stepping up lending to grid connected solar power projects.

He also sought the support of ADB for setting up large solar parks in the country under the national solar mission.

President Kuroda emphasized that India is an important destination for investments. He also informed the Minister of the 'Energy-for-all' initiative of the ADB which focuses on scaling up access to reliable and modern energy services for the poor. (ANI)