India Announces Groundbreaking Solar Plan

clipped from www.worldwatch.org India's National Solar Mission was approved "in principal" last week by the Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change. The solar mega-project, aimed at expanding India's solar capacity from the current 3 gigawatts (GW) to a reported 20 GW by 2020 and 200 GW by 2050, will form the centerpiece of a National Climate Change Strategy and cost an estimated US$20 billion to implement. With worldwide installed solar-generation capacity totalling just 16.5 GW, and India's power generation capacity at 150 GW, the plan is notable for its scale and ambition. Speaking at the launch of India's National Action Plan on Climate Change in June 2008, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the sun would occupy "center stage" in India's climate strategy and that the success of the solar endeavour would "change the face" of the country. Already, India's Solar Mission represents one of the world's largest renewable energy plans to date, with promises to establish India as a global solar leader