South India to emerge as hub for renewable energy
Bangalore: Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah said by 2022 the country would be able to establish an additional 20,000 MW of energy generating capacity from renewable sources. “Most of this is going to be established in south India,” he said, while delivering the inaugural address at a seminar on smart grids here on Tuesday.
Dr. Abdullah said power generation from renewable energy sources — biomass, wind, solar, small hydel stations (up to 25 MW) and waste — was 15,542 MW at the end of October. He said fears about global warming had provided an impetus to the search for new capacity from renewables. Karnataka, he said, “has played an important role in this endeavour”.
K. Jairaj, Additional Chief Secretary, Energy Department, said energy from renewable sources would play an important role in Karnataka’s plan to add 10,000 MW of capacity in the next five years. He said smart grids would enable better grid planning by integrating weather data to the network. He said since renewable energy from sources such as solar and wind depend on weather, this would help grid operators to plan power generation.
