The states of Punjab and Haryana are gearing up to harness the renewable energy in the region to combat the growing power shortage.
In an international conference on energy conservation chaired by the Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Farook Abdullah organised by CII in Chandigarh today, the Chief Minister of Haryana B S Hooda and Punjab deputy CM Sukhbir Badal sought better policy framework and subsidies for the promotion of renewable energy in their states.
Hooda said that Haryana being an agrarian state and its economy also being dependent on agriculture, its farmers met their irrigation requirements with diesel or electricity pumps. Therefore, there was a need to implement a scheme of solar energy-based pump sets for irrigation. An 1,800 watt solar pump cost about Rs 3.50 lakh. The ministry was earlier providing a subsidy of Rs 2.43 lakh up to 2003-04 and in Haryana, the government was able to motivate farmers to install solar pumps in place of diesel or electric pump sets and as a result 393 pumps were installed in the state. These pumps are working satisfactorily and there is a great demand for these pumps. But the Union Ministry has now reduced the subsidy to only Rs 50,000 making it unaffordable. Haryana farmers are ready to buy this pump for about Rs 1 lakh. Therefore, he requested the minister to consider increasing the central subsidy on solar pumps from Rs 50,000 to at least Rs 2 lakh, adding that Haryana would also consider providing subsidy from te state budget.
The Haryana Government is spending about Rs 30 crore on renewable energy and energy conservation programmes during the current financial year.
Realising the importance of supporting such initiatives, the state government has decided to create a “Green Energy Fund”. He assured that the state government would implement renewable energy and energy conservation programmes with all sincerity and budget would not be a constraint .
Talking at the same platform Sukhbir Badal said that Punjab planned to generate power from mirco-hydel projects from the flowing water as the state had 32 canals and needed assistance to rope in private players for that.
He added that Punjab planned to produce 1,000 Mw power through renewable energy by 2012.The meet was attended by prominent players from the corporate sector in the field of renewable energy production.
