India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has come out with a scheme to promote the use of solar energy in India. Known as “Solar Cities’, 60 cities across India have been chosen to dramatically increase the use of solar power through solar panels, heaters and cookers so that 10% of the energy usage comes from solar energy in the future. Note MNRE has not been too successful with its earlier programs namely the much hyped JNNSM which has managed to install only around 250 MW of solar capacity till date. Note Gujarat alone has managed to install 600 MW of solar energy in much lesser time. Even the Solar Cities plan looks like a over-hyped media dud to me. Only Rs 50 lakhs is being granted which is peanuts compared to the investment that will need to be made. Most of the money will go in planning and setting up bureaucratic bodies.
Read about Solar Products In India.
Some of the key highlights of the Solar Cities program are:
1) 10% reduction in Fossil Fuels – The Solar City aims at minimum 10% reduction in projected demand of conventional energy at the end of five years, through a combination of enhancing supply from renewable energy sources in the city and energy efficiency measures.
2) Actions to be taken by the Municipal Corporations and City Councils/District Administrations for developing a Solar City
3) MNRE Grant – Up to Rs. 50.00 Lakhs per city/town is provided depending upon population and initiatives decided to be taken by the City Council/ Administration as following details:
4) Population Size of Solar City – The cities may have population between 0.50 lakh to 50 lakh, however, relaxation could be considered for special category States including North-Eastern States and hilly States, Islands and Union Territories.
5) List of Cities already Chosen
State-wise list of 48 Cities for which in-principle approval has been give:
Sl.No. |
State |
Cities for which in-principle approval given |
1. |
Andhra Pradesh |
1. Vijaywada* |
2.
|
Assam |
2. Guwahati , 3. Jorhat* |
3.
|
Arunachal Pradesh |
4. Itanagar* |
4.
|
Chandigarh |
5. Chandigarh * |
5.
|
Chhattisgarh |
6. Bilaspur* , 7. Raipur* |
6.
|
Gujarat |
8. Rajkot* , 9. Gandhinagar* , 10.Surat |
7.
|
Goa |
11. Panji City* |
8.
|
Haryana |
12. Gurgaon* , 13. Faridabad* |
9.
|
Himachal Pradesh |
14. Shimla * , 15. Hamirpur* |
10.
|
Karnataka |
16. Mysore* , 17. Hubli-Dharwad* |
11.
|
Kerala |
18. Thiruvananthapuram , 19. Kochi |
12.
|
Maharashtra |
20. Nagpur* , 21. Thane* , 22.Kalyan-Dombiwali* , 23. Aurangabad , 24. Nanded , 25. Shirdi |
13.
|
Madhya Pradesh |
26. Indore , 27.Gwalior* , 28. Bhopal , 29. Rewa |
14.
|
Manipur |
30. Imphal* |
15.
|
Mizoram |
31. Aizawl* |
16.
|
Nagaland |
32. Kohima* , 33. Dimapur |
17.
|
Orissa |
34. Bhubaneswar |
18.
|
Punjab |
35. Amritsar* , 36. Ludhiana*, 37. SAS Nagar (Mohali) |
19.
|
Rajasthan |
38. Ajmer , 39. Jaipur , 40. Jodhpur* |
20.
|
Tamil Nadu |
41. Coimbatore |
21.
|
Tripura |
42. Agartala* |
22.
|
Uttrakhand |
43. Dehradun* , 44. Haridwar & Rishikesh* , 45. Chamoli-Gopeshwar |
23.
|
Uttar Pradesh |
46. Agra* , 47. Moradabad* |
24.
|
West Bengal |
48. Howrah |