Khuba Asks States to Set RE Targets, Calls Sectors To Contribute to 500 GW Goal

Union Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy and Chemicals and Fertilizers, Bhagwanth Khuba said that ‘concerted efforts’ from all sectors is vital to achieve the goal of 500 GW renewable energy capacity by 2030 that India has set.

Khuba lauded the role of the states so far in the renewable energy sector as he said that all states with their hard work gave immense contributions in the sector.

Bhagwanth Khuba was delivering the inaugural address at the 8th foundation day celebration of the Association of Renewable Energy Agencies of States (AREAS), hosted by Agency for Non-conventional Energy & Rural Technology (ANERT), Government of Kerala and AREAS.

The Minister added that the joint efforts by the Centre and States have resulted in achieving the goal of 175 GW of clean energy by 2022 way before the set time that was set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister had made the commitment under the Paris Agreement under UNFCCC in 2015.

The Paris Agreement aims to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius and preferably to below 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.

While stressing the initiatives being taken by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for achieving the ambitious target of 500 GW by 2030, the minister added that the Ministry is rolling out many schemes including PLIs.

Khuba pointed out that for renewable energy expansion, each state can set a target of its own.

Khuba also lauded the efforts by AREAS in the renewable energy sector, and held, “Because of AREAS, the States are getting a platform to showcase  what they did regarding energy in their own State where experience, achievement, and targets can be shared which will, in turn, will help each state immensely.” The AREAS Telephone Directory 2022 was also launched by Khuba while he also distributed awards in different categories for Best Performance in the RE sector to various states.

Kerala’s State Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty welcomed the financial and operational incentives announced by the Union Government for expanding the hydel power base which is pivotal for tapping the hydel potential for Kerala.