India continues to be the Asian powerhouse for solar capacity as new figures just released by The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has shown.In the last 3 years,some 1.17 GW of new solar capacity has been grid connected providing a further boost to the country’s very ambitious solar energy plans.
The Indian government figures show that 132 solar farms are already in full operation, contributing some 369MW of grid connected solar capacity.Coupled with the over 700MW of projects which are in the pipeline,then India is well on its way too meeting its 2030 target of 100 GW of solar capacity.New recently introduced solar subsidies should excelerate this process further.
The vast majority of the solar capacity recently installed was provided by solar PV installations, but included one solar thermal project as well. The main states contributing to this solar energy rush were,Gujarat with over 824MW, followed by Rajasthan with 251MW and thirdly Maharashtra with 25MW.of solar capacity.
New and Renewable Energy Joint Secretary Tarun Kapoor stated that the government was moving forward with plans to increase total solar capacity almost eight-fold to 10GW by early 2017 and was prepared to support the 700bn rupee ($13bn) investment programme already announced with around 60bn rupees ($1.1bn) of solar subsidies in order to reach their target.
This report clearly shows that the Asian powerhouse that India has become, with its plentiful sunshine,is certainly leading the way in solar energy production,and is a shining example to other nations as to what can be achieved with the correct mindset and approach.
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