The reason you do not see more solar power rooftops is because of lack of knowledge and a perception that it is unaffordable and expensive to set up
Shyamal Banerjee/Mint
The target for power generation set in the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-2012) has been revised downward (78,700MW to 62,374MW) and even that will be missed by a long shot when the term ends. That would be in keeping with tradition since only 50% of the target for power has been met in the 8th, 9th and 10th Five-Year Plans as well. The reason cited is shortage of coal as more than half of India’s power is thermally generated. Coal extraction is a monopoly of the public sector giant Coal India Ltd, whose output has been stagnant for several years now. They have issues of coal mafia, corruption and usual public sector inefficiencies. But their defence is that they are not allowed to mine in many areas because the environment ministry terms it ecologically untenable to dig there. The next important source of power is hydroelectricity. If the rains are delayed, as they are this year, the water in the dams fall and generation of hydro power is affected. As I write this, the water in the Bhakra Nangal and seven reservoirs in north India has reached a critical level.
This is about generation of power. Read more
Source : www.livemint.com
