Tamil Nadu might be a state suffering with the worst possible power outages in the country at present, with the state electricity board being worse than bankrupt, the state government has arrived upon the idea of solar energy as the antidote to these problems which have plagued the state for the past three decades. As part of the new roadmap, the Tamil Nadu government under chief minister Jayalalitha, this is the second such effort aimed at alternates as a primary source of utility after the state made rain water harvesting a mass movement.
The information is part of the larger state policy on the development of solar power, says information gleaned from Sudeep Jain, chairman and managing director of the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency. The solar power will be harvested primarily from rooftops, says Jain.
The Solar Energy Policy, announced recently says that the state will look at generation of up to 3000 megawatts of electricity over the next few years. The move comes at a time when already under the Chief Minister’s Solar Powered Green House Scheme (CMSPGHS), Tamil Nadu is installing solar home lighting in over three lakh households. The process is expected to be complete by 2016.
According to further information from the state’s renewable energy department, the process of solar lighting installation and the focus on this form of energy has created a buzz around investments, evident from the recently held Renergy Forum. The private sector for its part, has already gone on record to accept the fact that the sector could witness major movement, given especially the fact that a Rs 20,000 crore incentive scheme has already been announced by the state government.
Besides these initiatives, Tamil Nadu is also in the process of working out a certification mechanism for the sector even as the national solar mission is yet to see the light of day.
