Jan 29, 2015
Green vision is a go. US president Barack Obama’s visit to India this week raised new hopes for global action on climate change after the two nations agreed to collaborate on clean technology that could help India cut its huge carbon emissions.
During the visit, India’s prime minister Narendra Modi unveiled plans to boost the renewable contribution to the country’s energy. The aim is to generate 100 gigawatts of power from solar panels by 2022.
To put that in context, in 2013 solar capacity worldwide was 140 gigawatts, 12 gigawatts of which was in the US, according to the World Resources Institute, a non-governmental global research organization based in Washington DC. So India has committed to having eight times the current US solar power capacity by 2022 – even though it is starting from a low base, with just 3 gigawatts of solar installed today.
"We very much support India’s ambitious goal for solar energy, and stand ready to speed this expansion with additional financing," said Obama.
India is also considering a target of 60 gigawatts from wind power and expanding nuclear energy generation. It will now be easier for it to access US nuclear know-how, following an agreement between the two governments during Obama’s visit.
Source: New Scientist