NEW DELHI (TIP): Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has set a target of generation of 10,000 Megawatt of power through solar energy by the year 2017. Addressing the Solar Power Developers Meet in the Capital today, the Minister for New and Renewable Energy Dr. Farooq Abdullah said that the Phase I of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission has been very successful wherein 1685 MW of solar power was generated as against the target of 1100 MW. The Minister informed that large tracks of land have been identified in Rajasthan, Kargil and Ladakh which have immense potential of generation of solar power. Dr. Abdullah said that the main challenge was starting a transmission line in the areas of Kargil and Ladakh so that power could be evacuated to the other parts of the country.

He also focused on the need for breakthrough in new research to ensure storage of solar energy for greater time period. The Minister highlighted the new initiatives for ensuring greater use of solar power in the Government buildings and also said that the Ministry planned to use mobile towers in a way that they could generate power through solar and wind energy. On this occasion, the Minister gave awards to 13 organisations/ companies for having done commendable work in the first phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. He expressed the hope that the corporate sector will continue to contribute in a major way to the efforts of the Government in making India one of the leading producers of solar energy. Ratan P.Watal, Secretary, MNRE, highlighted importance of development of solar power for meeting the solar requirements of around 40% of the population which lacked access to energy resources. Even providing one unit of power to such houses throughout the year would in itself need a generation of 15,000 MW of solar power.

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission was launched on 11th January, 2010 by the Prime Minister. The Mission has set the ambitious target of deploying 20,000 MW of grid connected solar power by 2022. The Mission has targeted a capacity of grid connected solar power generation of 1000 MW within three years of its launch and to reach installed power capacity of 10,000 MW by the year 2017. The target of 20,000 MW for 2022, which if successful, could lead to conditions of grid-competitive solar power.