Govt to develop 60 solar energy cities in 11th plan

The government proposes to develop 60 solar-powered cities during the 11th Five Year Plan, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.

"The government has been supporting research and development for reducing the cost of solar power to make it competitive to grid power in next 8-10 years through improvement in performance of existing solar devices," New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah said.

In a written reply, he said the government has recently launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission with an aim to create an enabling policy framework for reducing cost of solar electricity through various measures, including intense R&D initiatives and setting up of manufacturing facilities.

"The Solar Mission envisages setting up of 1,000 MW grid interactive solar power plants, 100 MW rooftop and small power plants, besides 200 MW off-grid solar applications in the country by 2013," he said.

Government proposes to develop 60 solar energy cities during the 11th Five Year Plan without any assistance from any other country, Abdullah said.

The Minister also said that the National Thermal Power Corporation has a plan to set up a 150 MW solar thermal power plant in Rajasthan.