Renewable Energy Supply will meet 'the 10% by 2015' Target: CERC Chairman

“The renewable energy supply will not be a constraint in meeting the 10% by 2015 target set by the National Action Plan on Climate Change,” Dr Pramod Deo, IAS, Chairman, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) said and added that CERC has conducted a study to assess the supply scenario based on stakeholder consultation and the study revealed that the supply from renewable energy resources could exceed 47720 MW by 2015, as against the trend scenario of 54,800 MW. Solar power alone is expected to supply 4000 MW by 2015”

Providing the Inaugural Address by Chief Guest at the inaugural session of ninth edition of Green Power 2010, a two-day seminar on renewable energy, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here today, Dr Deo said that considering the infirm nature of generation and difficulties in scheduling, there is a need to promote smart grid technologies and biomass and solar with storage facilities.

He said that the government is supporting the solar industry by offering a generation-based incentive to help the industry meet the National Solar Mission target of 20 GW by 2022. Giving an overview of the renewable industry, Dr Deo said that India has the total installed capacity of 1,61,352 MW as on May, 2010, wherein the total installed capacity of renewable energy is about 10% (17,222 MW). However, currently renewable energy contributes just 4% of total power generation.

In his Special Address, Dr R Chirstodas Gandhi, IAS, Chairman and Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency said that the industry should look at the development of renewable energy at small scale too to provide quality power to the customers of unconnected and remote locations. “We should use renewable energy not only for augmenting power but also for making the scenario more inclusive for the participation of small scale industry,” he said.

Mr Gandhi said that the State has been receiving overwhelming response from the investors who are willing to setup wind, solar and biomass projects. Tamil Nadu is on its way to create an additional 5000 MW power from renewable sources this year. There are 15 to 16 lesser wind areas and left over sites, offshore and coastlines for small scale generation.

Delivering the Theme Address, Mr Ramesh Kymal, Chairman, Renewable Energy Council, CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre, observed that though the move toward generation-based incentives is a step in the right direction, the present incentives are not adequate. Generation-based incentives need to be doubled to Rs 1 per unit and the cap of Rs 62 lakh a MW needs to be removed.

Mr Kymal said that the renewable energy law which is presently under debate needs to be enacted fast to give the sector a special push along the lines of support being given in European countries. He cautioned that the incentives under the solar mission should be further extended to other sectors to avoid lopsided growth in the renewable energy sector. This problem has been faced by several European countries. He suggested that the centre has to make available the fund generated through levying a cess of Rs 50 per tonne of coal to fund the renewable energy projects at lower interest rates.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Mr N K Ranganath, Vice Chairman, CII Tamil Nadu State Council, said that the long term policy and attractive financing mechanisms are the vital factors that could provide a major fillip to the renewable energy movement in the country. Mr K E Ragunaathan, Chairman, Sub Group on Solar Thermal Renewable Energy Council, CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre, provided the concluding remarks.