Solar-powered stuff is expensive; govt plans tax rebates
to encourage sales.
Want to do your bit to reduce carbon emissions? It may be easy, but not cheap. Solar power-based home equipment is far more costly than conventional ones. But there is hope. The ministry of new and renewable energy is pushing the finance ministry to provide income tax rebates to those who use renewable power.
However, no decision has been taken yet. “We are meeting finance ministry officials to discuss this but there has been no decision yet. We feel the concept of solar energy would become popular if rebate is given to people on income tax,” said a ministry official.
With a range of ‘high cost’ solar products (see box) available in the market, a little help from the government can help people buy them. Ministry officials say they have to spread the word now that the PM has announced India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change.
The government is trying to make rural folk friendly with alternate energy resources. It has distributed 7.7 lakh solar lanterns, 5.1 lakh solar home lighting systems, 82,500 solar street lighting systems, 6.57 lakh solar cookers and about 7,247 solar water pumping systems. It has already installed solar steam cooking system to cook for 15,000 people daily at Tirupati and 20,000 people daily at Shri Sai Baba Sansthan in Shirdi. Vaishno Devi and Ajmer Sharif will follow.
Solar cities tooThe government has decided to develop 34 solar cities. The governments of Andhra, Assam, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Kerala have been asked to identify the cities (population of 5-50 lakh). “We plan to have 60 solar cities but that would take time,” an officer said. These solar cities can reduce at least 10% of projected conventional energy demand at the end of five years.
Thermal power plant in Pune
Pune: India’s first experimental solar-thermal power plant comes up at Shive in Khed, Pune, in the next 18 months, an initiative by the department of science and technology and city-based Thermax Ltd. Union minister for science and technology Prithviraj Chavan laid the foundation stone of the project on Sunday. The plant will run on solar and bio-waste to produce 250 kW of power for over 1,000 villagers.
—Gitesh Shelke
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