VP Venkaiah Naidu inaugurates 2.4 megawatt solar power plant; urges need for solar cells

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, on Monday urged states to encourage the establishment of solar PV cell and module manufacturing factories, in order to boost production in the country. He said this while inaugurating a 2.4 Megawatt capacity solar power plant at Pondicherry University in the Union Territory of Puducherry. 

He emphasised the need for ‘Atma Nirbharta' in solar energy through active participation of the states, noting that India still relies significantly on imported components such as solar cells and modules. He also advocated for supporting small participants in the business. Naidu brought up the IPCC climate change report and highlighted the importance of actively pursuing sustainability. 

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu inaugurates solar power plant 

Noting India's potential for growth in the renewable energy sector in the next years, VP Naidu stated that a shortage of skilled workers is a hurdle in the sector's exponential expansion. He advocated for investing in workforce training and upskilling in order to accept new technology, using the scheme of the ‘Surya Mitras' as a reference. He emphasised his concern about the effects of climate change. Green energies, such as solar, wind, and small hydro, offer a realistic alternative to satisfy our expanding energy needs, according to VP Naidu.

“The recent IPCC report on climate change gives us a dire warning of global temperature rise exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius”, he said.

VP Venkaiah Naidu urges need for solar cells, solar modules and skilled workers 

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said that India is rapidly becoming a worldwide leader in the ‘energy transition,' noting that India ranks sixth in the world in solar power capacity with over 40 Gigawatts deployed. He advised looking into different ways to deploy ground-mounted PV systems, emphasising the need for innovation in the solar industry.  In this context, he cited the instance of floating solar plants on water, particularly the NTPC’s floating solar power plant of 100 MW capacity at Ramagundam in Telangana. He also highlighted that rooftop-mounted solar plants are a sustainable option and need to be encouraged.

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said, “The biggest is the shortage of domestically manufactured solar cells and solar modules. We still heavily rely on imported solar components which are being used by Indian companies to make panels”.  He added, “Another bottleneck in our exponential growth of solar and other renewable energy sources is the lack of a trained workforce”

VP Naidu calls on universities to research renewable energy

The Vice President also urged universities to pursue renewable energy-related research and initiatives on a proactive basis. He recommended that educational institutions encourage students to pursue final-year projects and internships in renewable energy and material sciences. The event was attended by Lt. Governor of Puducherry, Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, Chief Minister, N. Rangasamy, Speaker of the Puducherry Assembly, Embalam R. Selvam, Member of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly, P.M.L. Kalyana Sundaram, Vice-Chancellor of Pondicherry University, Prof. Gurmeet Singh, Director of Studies, Dr S. Balakrishnan, and others as well.

(IMAGE: @VPSECRETARIAT TWITTER)