India ramps up solar power target to 100 GW

The Union Cabinet, in an ambitious push for clean energy, ramped up the country's solar energy generation target five times to 100 GW by 2022, from 20,000 MW under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNUSM) on Wednesday. If India manages to achieve this target, it will become one of the largest green energy producers in the world. JNNUSM was launched by the United Progressive Alliance in 2009. This will also greatly reduce the country's reliance on fossil fuels thus reducing our carbon emissions, which is the third largest in the world behind China and United States of America. Currently, India has an installed solar photovoltaic capacity of 3,800MW.

Along with this decision, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs also approved setting up of over 2,000 MW of grid-connected solar projects on build, own and operate (BOO) basis under JNNUSM Phase-II. As per the Centre's plan, of the 100 GW, 40 GW would be rooftop solar energy and 60 GW wouild be through large and medium scale grid connected solar power projects.

The big push for solar would need an investment of Rs 6 lakh crore. In the first phase, the Centre will be providing Rs.15,050 crore as capital subsidy to promote solar capacity addition. Primarily, the capital subsidy would be too promote Rooftop solar projects.

Globally, and especially since the National Democratic Alliance came to power, India has retierated its committment to push solar energy vigorously during climate conferences. If the country is able to achieve the 100GW target, it will cut down 170 million tonnes of carbon emissions. But, to give an idea of the gravity of the ambition, the country would have to look no further than China. From less than a third of GW of solar energy capacity, China is currently producing almost 19 GW of solar energy. Despite already producing 19GW of solar energy already, the country's 2017 target is pegged at 70GW.