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‘India to become world's largest renewable energy hub’

09 May 2015 03:48 PM

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Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal said the government is going to push hard to make India the largest producer of renewable energy.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18'S Anshu Sharma, he said the government is looking at scaling up the capacity of renewable energy to 1,75,000 megawatts which will be the largest installation in the world.

The government is also planning on a 20-year roadmap on transmission and power generation, he added.

Below is the transcript of Piyush Goyal’s interview with Anshu Jain on CNBC-TV18.

Q: How does the government plan to improve transmission of energy to rural areas?

A: The Prime Minister has a clear roadmap on how we are going to ensure 24/7 power to the whole nation with his successful experiments and the outcomes of his work in Gujarat. We have now introduced two new schemes, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana for segregation of agricultural feeder.

Also to give last mile connectivity in rural areas, the Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) will help us reach the cities with smart girds and better technology and bring down power theft and transmission and distribution (T&D) losses.

We have also in the last 12 months initiated nearly Rs 50,000 crore worth of transmission projects. In the current year in the next six months we will be coming out with bids worth nearly Rs 100,000 crore of transmission lines. This government is planning not only for the medium-term by 2019 but also for the long-term; a 20 year roadmap on transmission and power generation.

Q: Are there any green sustainable solutions in pipeline for energy in India?

A: The country is going to become the world’s largest renewable energy hub. We are looking at scaling up the capacity of renewable energy to 1,75,000 megawatts which to my mind will be the largest installation in the world. In fact far more than all the western nations who are often talkingabout clean energy but don’t seem to act with their alacrity with which Prime Minister Modi is doing.

In the days to come we are looking at increasing the renewable energy output of India by five times.