India Aims to Become Global Leader in Solar Power with ₹91,684 Cr Plan

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's council on climate change has discussed an ambitious ₹91,684 crore plan to make India a global leader in solar power by 2050. The Solar Mission, a part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change, aims to generate 200,000 MW of solar power by 2050, with various fiscal incentives proposed for manufacturers and end-consumers to promote solar plants and technology. The mission plans to achieve parity with coal-based thermal power generation by 2030 and aims to reach grid-parity by 2020, with a generation capacity of 20,000 MW.

Key Takeaways:

• The Solar Mission aims to generate 200,000 MW of solar power by 2050, with a proposed subsidy of ₹82,000 crore.
• The mission plans to achieve parity with coal-based thermal power generation by 2030 and aims to reach grid-parity by 2020.
• A generation capacity of 20,000 MW is expected to be achieved by 2020, with the capacity reaching 100,000 MW by 2030.
• A solar Energy Commission and an autonomous Solar Energy Authority of India will be setup to provide guidance and support.
• The fund requirement for the mission will be met in three phases: ₹10,130 crore under Phase I, ₹22,515 crores under Phase II, and ₹11,921 crores under Phase III.

Statistics:

• ₹91,684 crore: The total fund required for the Solar Mission
• ₹82,000 crore: The proposed subsidy for generating 200,000 MW of solar power by 2050
• 200,000 MW: The target solar power generation capacity by 2050
• 20,000 MW: The generation capacity expected to be achieved by 2020 at grid-parity
• 100,000 MW: The target solar capacity by 2030, accounting for 10-12% of the total power generation capacity
• ₹10,130 crore: Fund requirement under Phase I
• ₹22,515 crores: Fund requirement under Phase II
• ₹11,921 crores: Fund requirement under Phase III

Sources:

• PTI, "PMs Council deliberates on Rs 91,684 Cr solar energy plan" (August 3)