THE MINISTER OF NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY (DR. FAROOQ ABDULLAH)
(a) : As per various studies undertaken in past, a potential of about 89,000 MW for power
generation from different renewable energy sources is estimated excluding solar energy which
has been estimated for most parts of the country at around 20 MW per square kilometer of open,
shadow free area covered with solar collectors. State-wise details thereof are given in
Annexure-I.
(b): A total grid interactive renewable power generation capacity of around 18842 MW has
been set up as on 31.01.2011, which is over 11% of the total power generation installed
capacity from all sources in the country.
(c)&(d): The initial capital investment in renewable energy projects is generally high
and their viability is very much region / site specific. As such, the cost of renewable power
generation is generally higher in comparison with the traditional sources. Details of
Indicative initial capital costs and cost of electricity generation in respect of different
categories of renewable power plants are given in Annexure-II.
(e)&(f): Research, design and development (RD&D) efforts are underway globally,
including in this country, driven mainly by industry, to develop technologies/processes that
help to align the unit cost of power generation from renewable energy sources, especially
solar, to that of conventional power generation. The Ministry is supporting such efforts
under its R&D programme, with CFA up to 100% of project cost to Universities, research
institutions, R&D laboratories and industry, for achieving well-defined specific outputs.
