MADURAI: The Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA) is organising a two-day national conference on renewable energy at Udhagamandalam in The Nilgiris district on Saturday and Sunday (May 28 and 29) in association with the Tamil Nadu Tea Exporters' Association.

A delegation of 100 foreign scholars involved in solar thermal research were also likely to take part in the conference, S.E.S.

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) has been launched, but developers are still worried about non-recourse financing. This is because lenders think solar power projects are too risky. This perception will change if the Centre helps commercial banks gain expertise in assessing project viability.

The National Solar Mission is gathering momentum as more number of projects move towards financial closure and achieve land acquisition, the review meeting of projects noted.

The appraised projects include smaller projects of 1 mw and 2 mw, 5 mw solar photovoltaic projects and large scale solar thermal projects.

Solar power has come a long way from the 50 per unit that it cost a couple of decades ago

The state government is contemplating a comprehensive solar power policy as a large of solar power projects are in the pipeline in Andhra Pradesh. A study team that recently toured Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, said that consultants will now be appointed to give recommendations for the policy.

The Centre has asked the Rajasthan Government to speed up the implementation of solar power projects awarded to private companies in western parts of the State and make arrangements for training of engineers and technicians to add quality to the existing projects and serve the needs of the future.

Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Secretary Deepak Gupta said while reviewing the progres