Solar energy to 25,000 villages by 2012: Muttemwar

NEW DELHI: With an aim to supply power to every nook and corner of the country, the government is contemplating to provide solar energy to 25,000 unelectrified villages by 2012.

"There are 25,000 villages in the country where due to technical reasons regular electricity could not be provided. So, we are planning to connect them with solar and bio-energy," Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Vilas Muttemwar said addressing a function here.

Acknowledging that 56 per cent villages have no power connection, he said though the country needed 3 lakh MW power, the present production is just 1.35 lakh MW.

Muttemwar said renewable energy was the only solution in the future to overcome the energy crisis in the country as excessive use of fossil fuels were creating environmental problem in the form of global warming and climate change.

"India is blessed with plenty of renewable energy sources such as solar, bio-energy, wind and hydel energy. With such a vast pool of renewable resources available, the Ministry is striving to provide energy in every village and lighting in every house," he said.

In her speech, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit highlighted the steps taken by her government to promote solar energy in the capital city.

"Due to various steps taken by our government, Delhi has become greenest city of the country," she said.

The function, which was orgnaised by TERI to celebrate the 'Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Divas', was also addressed by Director General of TERI R K Pachauri.