CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu is already a leader in renewable energy in the country and will seek further increase in such power production over the next five years, said Sudeep Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA), here on Wednesday.Speaking at the inauguration of a three-day International Multi-disciplinary Conference on Solar Energy at the Meenakshi College for Women, Sudeep Jain said that currently, Tamil Nadu accounts for 36 per cent of renewable energy produced in the country.“The Chief Minister’s vision is to generate 2,000MW of solar energy by 2015. This would account for a large percentage of the amount envisioned under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission,” he said.The two major schemes to be undertaken in Tamil Nadu would be the installation of solar home lighting in 60,000 homes this year. This will be done for the next five years, making solar home lighting reach up to three lakh households. Similarly, one lakh solar street lights would be installed, at the rate of 20,000 a year.Sudeep said that the advancement in photovoltaic cell production had brought down the cost of production of one unit from Rs 18 in 2010 to a little more than Rs 7 this year. “We need students to innovate and show cost-effective ways to move from conventional to renewable sources of energy,” he said, addressing the student delegates at the conference.Reiterating the need for newer and more effective techniques, Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah said, “We need to take up research and development in renewable energy with dedication and seriousness... It (solar energy) has the advantage of permitting multipoint production and therefore, decentralised distribution of energy. It will thereby empower people at the grassroots level.”The conference will cover the academic, research and technology aspects of solar energy. Seventy experts from 10 countries will address various topics ranging from the manufacture of solar cells and panels, electronic control systems, energy storage systems, and costing and regulation. Convenor of the conference, Dr VS Raghunath, Dean of Research, Meenakshi Sundararajan Engineering College, said, “The key driver to evolution of solar energy is to improve efficiency. This path has been waiting for technological maturity, especially following the advent of nanotechnology.”Vice Chancellor of Anna University, Dr Mannar Jawahar was also present at the inauguration, and spoke about the future of commercial solar energy.
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