Govt to set up R&D centre for manufacturing of RE components: Pralhad Joshi

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), in collaboration with the Ministry of Power, has decided to set up a centre of excellence (CoE) to carry out research and development for indigenous manufacturing of various components required to generate green energy.

Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said at a press conference after addressing the 'Chintan Shivir' organised here to develop strategies for achieving India's ambitious target of 500 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity in the next 6 years by 2030.

The two-day meeting concluded on Friday.

More than 200 parts or components (over 50 per cent of total parts) required to develop electrolysers are being imported from other countries, Joshi said.

"So, a centre of excellence (CoE) will be established to carry out joint research and development for indigenous manufacturing of such components," he said.

Electrolysers, which use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, are a critical technology for producing low-emission hydrogen from renewable or nuclear electricity.

The CoE will also organise hackathons and will offer full support to youth-driven startups to make India 'Aatmanirbhar' (self-reliant) in the RE sector, he pointed out.

The union minister said it was also decided to form a dedicated task force, involving the power ministry, MNRE, industry leaders and important stakeholders, to push efforts to meet India's ambitious target of having 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030.

We have to add 288 GW in renewable energy generation in the next six years to meet the huge target. More than Rs 22 lakh crore has been invested in the RE sector in the past 10 years while another Rs 42 lakh crore is needed in six years to achieve the goal, he noted.

Joshi said some states are not ready to sign power purchase agreements even after the completion of transmission lines and clients are ready for it.

A detailed discussion on the issues was held during the two-day conference.

Speaking about Odisha, he said the state has the potential to set up floating solar plants and green hydrogen hubs.

Two green hydrogen hubs have been proposed to be set up at Gopalpur and Paradip, he added.