Delhi-based financial daily Live Mint recently reported that India is working on a plan to form an association of countries with high solar potential with an aim to lower the cost of solar energy and improve the country’s standing at global climate change and environment protection discussions.
The proposal is said to aim at bringing together 56 countries which receive sunshine over more than 300 days. It is speculated that a large number of these countries would be from Africa, which India and others eye as a major market. Needless to say, China is the main competitor here.
While no details of the proposal are available from any other source, the newspaper quoted an unidentified government source as saying:
Most of the countries that receive good days of solar radiation are near the equator and are not big economies. We have some technology and the cost of manufacturing here is low. Such an association will strengthen our position and improve our profile at the world stage by showcasing our commitment towards the renewable energy sector.
MNRE had recently come out with its findings that the solar potential of India is 750 GW. It is also said to be in the process of revising the country’s solar targets to an ambitious 100 GW by 2022.
The move comes in the wake of the US and China inking a climate change deal wherein the US will reduce its emissions by 26–28% below its 2005 level by 2025 and China will peak carbon emissions around 2030.
India’s own National Action Plan on Climate Change recommends that the country generate 10% of its power from solar, wind, hydropower and other renewable sources by 2015, and 15% by 2020, up from 12.47% now.
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