As India Achieves Solar Power Target Four Years In Advance, Centre Eyes New 100 GW Goal By 2022

In light of the country achieving its installed solar power generation capacity target four years ahead of schedule, the central government has now set aim at a new goal of reaching 100 GW of solar power by 2022, reports PTI.

Initially, the government had aimed for India’s solar power capacity to reach 20 GW by 2022, but according to Department of Science and Technology adviser Akhilesh Gupta this target was achieved much earlier in January 2018 itself.

Explaining the need to rapidly move to renewable energy, Gupta said that even though historically India had been one of the lowest contributors to global warming, the country was disproportionately being affected by the world’s changing climate.

He pointed out the general trend of Himalayan states being affected by rising temperatures, as well as other states becoming more and more vulnerable to resultant changes in flooding patters.

As of 2018, India has the sixth largest installed solar power capacity in the world, a sharp rise from the 11th place it occupied in 2015.