Nevin John / Mumbai August 4, 2009, 0:44 IST

MUKESH RANJAN
The government on Monday approved the country's "solar mission", which envisages augmentation of 20,000 MW power by 2020.

The decision to this effect was taken at the meeting of the PM's Council on Climate Change headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday evening.

Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI: With the worldwide focus on climate change and exploring renewable energy sources to meet the emerging power needs, the Central Government is all set to unveil a mega solar power capacity addition plan to make India the global leader in solar energy.

Thumbing their noses at the financial crisis, investors breathe new life into the Indian wind market; new subsidies are poised to take effect, and industry insiders see an upswing in the offing.

The boreal forests of Scandinavia offer a considerable resource base, and use of the resource for the production of less carbon-intensive alternative transport fuel is one strategy being considered in Norway. Here, we quantify the resource potential and investigate the environmental implications of wood-based transportation relative to a fossil reference system for a specific region in Norway.

The Indian energy supply system has risen from a few thousands of kW capacity in the early fifties to 1,47,402 MW and is growing by the year. However the capacity is unable to keep pace with the growth in demand. The Indian wind energy sector is on the growth path aiming to achieve an installed capacity of about 15,000 MW by 2010.

India has been one of the enthusiastic proponents of the need for product certification with regard to wind turbines ever since the technology made its way into the country. One one hand it could be attributed to the influence of Danish turbines which got installed in large numbers as wll as the fact that Denmark was at the forefront in certification of wind turbines.

Building-integrated photovoltaic solutions are still significantly more expensive than traditional on-roof systems, comprising a niche market. But manufacturers are increasingly offering solar modules for facades and in-roof systems. Are we on the threshold of a major new market?

China's wind industry is booming. But manufacturing capacity growth is out stripping the market. The competition is squeezing margins; international providers are falling behind as national champions pull ahead.

ENERGY plays an important role in accelerating economic growth inasmuch as it serves as an important element in providing food, shelter, healthcare facilities, safe water, sanitation, education and access to jobs to either an individual or group or the whole community.

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