Spotlight

New Delhi, 17 March 2007

ENERGISING RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

NEW DELHI, March 18 (INFA): The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has taken several steps to promote renewable energy sector in the country.  It has drawn up schemes to focus on solar water heating systems, wind power and biomass installations.

These schemes are being increasingly promoted through wide publicity and by establishing “Renewable Energy Clubs” in engineering Colleges and technology institutions across the country. The Ministry has also launched a National Quiz on Renewable Energy through Television programmes.

Under the Biogas programmes, family type biogas plants with capacity of 2 cu.m. to 10 cu.m. gas per day are supported to households in rural areas and villages to meet their cooking and lighting needs. So far about 40 lakh biogas plants have been installed in the country against an estimated potential of 120 lakh plants. Work has been commenced on test projects on Villages Energy Security in remote villages and hamlets that are not likely to be electrified through grid power.

The projects aim at meeting the energy needs of cooking, lighting and motive power of villages. The first Test Project was successfully commissioned at Kasai Village, Betul district, Madhya Pradesh. 

Depending on the outcome of the test projects, bringing energy security to households in remote villages/hamlets would become a reality. Abut 2240 remote villages have so far been provide lights through renewable energy sources. During 2006-07, 264 villages and 236 hamlets have been provided lights or electricity under Remote Village Electrification Programme.

Bio-fuel Demonstration Projects based on non-edible vegetable oils for lighting and motive power applications for agriculture, etc. were commissioned in villages Sipri and Sahariya of Uttar Pradesh and village Ranganahali of Karnataka. Electricity being produced from these systems is being supplied to households for 2-4 hours every day.

Solar Water Heating is being given a boost by the deployment of solar water heating systems to 0.5 lakh sq.m. of collector area during 2006-07 through the launch of an innovative scheme. Low temperature solar thermal technology for urban households uses is a favoured one in several countries, including China & Israel.

Waste disposal in urban areas is becoming a matter of serious concern. As technologies are available for converting Municipal Solid Wastes into energy, an innovative scheme to promote the same has been launched to cover all major Municipal Corporations through public-private partnerships.

BIRLA SCIENCE CENTRE

HYDERABAD, March 18 (INFA): The popular BM Birla Science Centre---set up more than 20 years ago in the heart of the Hyderabad city---has a guest-list of an impressive twelve million visitors till date, including ex-PMs and several dignitaries.

Recently, the Director of the Centre told the media “it is true that 50% of the exhibits have not changed over the years as they are popular with visitors. We have added some new exhibits as recently as three months ago.”---INFA