India needs national lab policy for renewable energy: Goyal

India needs a National Lab Policy to facilitate the testing, standardization and certification of renewable energy projects, Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister Pitush Goyal said on Friday.

"A policy document should bring out a clear work plan identifying the need of equipment and infrastructure including funds requirement," he said addressing the national workshop on lab infrastructure for testing, standardization, certification and inspection for the Renewable Energy Deployment Programmme.

"There is a need to pay more attention on ensuring quality and reliability of renewable energy systems for effective promotion of renewable energy," he said.

"We need to strengthen test facilities for proper testing to maintain quality of products. Also, training, proper inspection for checking the quality of systems installed is needed, ensuring effective utilization of renewable energy," he added.

Goyal also said that biogas needs to be given more attention to make it a well-organized industry.

"Improved biomass cook stoves should be promoted for clean cooking solutions, thereby addressing both fuel saving and health hazard concerns of rural women and children," he added.

The workshop has been organized in view of the new and renewable energy ministry's ambitious programme of 175 GW Renewable Energy Deployment Programme, the ministry said in a statement here.

Meanwhile, to ensure better capacity utilisation of wind energy projects, the union power ministry is developing a framework for repowering wind farms from 200-300 W units to 2-5 MW ones, Goyal said here on Thursday.

He also said that the government was finalising the contours of power tariff policy.