Rajya Sabha member stresses on importance of solar energy awareness at expo

Rajya Sabha member emphasises importance of solar energy awareness at Renewable Energy Expo in Visakhapatnam.

Rajya Sabha member Golla Babu Rao, who has been nominated as a Member of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Renewable Energy recently, has underlined the need for all stakeholders, including consumers, to keep themselves informed on the benefits of the eco-friendly solar energy.

Mr. Babu Rao inaugurated a three-day RE-NXT Solar Renewable Energy Expo, organised by A.P. Solar Energy Association(AP SEA), along with A.P. EPDCL CMD Prudhvi Tej, at the AU College of Engineering grounds here on Friday.

Addressing the gathering, Mr. Babu Rao said that the Union and the State governments were allocating huge funds for promoting the use of solar energy. He called upon the organisers to conduct more awareness programmes to increase the understanding of the general public on the importance of going for renewable energy sources. He said solar power was free, the government was giving subsidy and the solar projects generate employment. He said that if he got an opportunity in Parliament, he would suggest making Visakhapatnam as a ‘model city’ for implementation of solar energy.

Mr. Prudhvi Tej said that the Centre has introduced PM Surya Ghar scheme to promote rooftop solar energy. The scheme saw renewed interest among the people as the amount of subsidy under the scheme was increased substantially. “We are seeing increase in registrations across the 11 districts under the purview of AP EPDCL. The vendor network has improved and they are marketing actively. But it was still a long way to go to achieve the target,” he said.

Mr. Prudhvi Tej said that the Chief Minister wants installation of 10 lakh rooftop solar connections in the State. There were 40,000 solar connections under the purview of EPDCL and the plan was to increase it to four lakh connections by the end of the scheme period. He said that door-to-door awareness campaigns were being organised to promote the scheme. Committees have been formed at the district-level and village and mandal-level committees were being formed to promote the scheme, with the involvement of DWCRA group members.

He explained that there was immense potential for installation of rooftop solar systems in Visakhapatnam in view of the large number of multi-storeyed buildings in the city. The costs and also the benefits could be shared by the residents. Others could go for loans to purchase solar equipment, availing of the subsidy. The scheme would also benefit industrial and commercial consumers, he added.

AP SEA president Hema Kumar and general secretary Rammohan Rao called upon the public to visit the three-day expo and increase their understanding of the benefits of solar energy. They said that around 40 solar power equipment manufacturers, distributors and traders were participating in the expo. SBI and other banks were also participating in the expo.