BY MATTHEW L. WALD
NEW YORK

When the builders of the Maple Ridge Wind farm spent $320 million to put nearly 200 wind turbines in upstate New York, the idea was to get paid for producing electricity.

But at times, regional electric lines have been so congested that Maple Ridge has been forced to shut down even with a brisk wind blowing.

That is a symptom of a broad national problem. Expansive dreams about renewable energy, like Al Gore's hope of replacing all fossil fuels in a decade, are bumping up against the reality of a power grid that cannot handle the new demands.

John F Wasik / Mumbai August 26, 2008, 3:48 IST

My neighbour was palpably proud of himself when he mentioned at a backyard barbeque he had bought a specialised fund that invested in a solar-energy company.

When he asked me what I thought of his well-intentioned investment, though, I had to play killjoy. Instead of patting him on the back, I told him it was a bad idea. While I sense that climate change is probably a man-made global problem that needs to be addressed by all of us, as investors we often pursue the wrong ideas.

V.R. Krishna Iyer

It is strange to learn that Kerala has no plan to generate power through alternative means.

The Haldia project will involve an investment of Rs. 5,500 crore

GREEN POWER: Jyoti Poddar (left), Managing Director, Bhaskar Silicon, and Hans Authenreith (right), Centrotherm, Germany, exchanging documents in the presence of Nirupam Sen, Minister for Industry and Commerce, West Bengal Government, in Kolkata on Thursday.

KOLKATA: The country's first polysilicon solar project, which also happens to be the largest integrated solar power complex of the world, was launched here on Thursday.

Ed Pilkington

New York: Within 10 years, New Yorkers may be walking over the Brooklyn Bridge beneath gently whirring turbines, and gazing up at the Empire State Building topped by a giant windmill.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is calling for the city to become a major generator of renewable energy. He wants to see New York wean itself from dependency on the conventional power grid by massive investment in wind, solar and wave energy and opened the prospect of wind turbines being placed on bridges and skyscrapers, in a way that could transform the city's skyline.

Bangalore, DHNS:

The KERC proposes to fix tariff for solar PV energy at 3.40 per unit for the demonstration projects that will be set up during the 11th plan.

According to a release, this tariff will be in addition to the incentive of Rs 12 per unit of solar PV energy announced by the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy.

CHANDIGARH: Haryana Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, on Wednesday announced launching of a new scheme known as "Shiksha Deep' in the State.

Speaking at the celebrations of Rajiv Gandhi Akshya Urja Diwas at Panchkula near here, Mr. Hooda said that under this scheme, LED solar lanterns would be provided to those girl students of each school in every village who would rank first in their respective classes of 5, 8, 10 and 12. During this year, the innovative scheme would benefit 19,000 girls and cost Rs 3 crore.

NEW DELHI: The need for conserving energy and using new and renewable energy resources was stressed by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit at the Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Divas-2008 celebrations organised to mark the birth anniversary of the late Prime Minister at Delhi Secretariat on Wednesday.

As part of the celebrations, essay writing, painting, quiz and debate competitions on the theme of "Renewable Energy is the Future of India's Energy Security' were organised. The Chief Minister presented cash awards to the winners.

Participants at the Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Diwas celebration held by JREDA. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, Aug. 20: Renewable energy sources need to be tapped to solve power problems in villages across the state.

Speaking at the Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Samaroh organised at the Town Hall to mark the 64th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, the chairman of Jharkhand State Electricity Regulatory Commission (JSERC), Mukhtiyar Singh, said it was time to take action.