The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Institutes working on solar energy to get funding

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jan 06, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Institutes working on solar energy to get funding

Special Correspondent

BANGALORE: In a bid to increase the efficiency of solar energy devices, the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has launched a scheme to provide 100 per cent funding to institutes that are working on the research and development aspects of solar photovoltaic cells.

Addressing presspersons here on Friday, New and Renewable Energy Secretary V. Subramanian said the focus was to increase the energy convertibility rate of solar energy devices from the present 13 per cent.

"It will be a great achievement even if we can increase the convertibility by 2 per cent," he said. Efforts are on to increase the convertibility rate to 25 per cent by using different material to manufacture solar photovoltaic cells instead of silicon.

In Karnataka, the Indian Institute of Science was working on increasing the efficiency of photovoltaic cells, he said. Mr. Subramanian announced that the country was set to increase its renewable energy capacity from 9,000 MW to 10,000 MW by the end of March. This had become possible due to the increase in the wind energy generation. As against the target of adding wind energy of 3,075 MW by the end of the 10th five-year plan; the country had added 5,000 MW.

Wind energy

Karnataka is set to increase its wind energy capacity by a whopping 1000 MW in about a year.

Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL) Managing Director B Shivalingaiah said about 250 small wind energy projects would be allocated in different districts with adequate wind velocity.

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