Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Monday urged States to promote the setting up of manufacturing plants for solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules to accelerate domestic production.

Inaugurating a 2.4-MW solar power plant at Puducherry, he said, “The biggest challenge is the shortage of domestically manufactured solar cells and solar modules. We still rely on imported components to make panels. We need to reduce this dependency and achieve Atma Nirbharta in solar modules and solar cells,” Naidu said States particularly must take an active lead in this regard, he said.

Training workforce

Naidu also emphasised on investing in training the workforce with the latest technologies in the renewable sector. The scheme of ‘Surya Mitras’ is one good instance, an official release quoted him as saying.

He also highlighted the importance of innovation in the solar sector. As the tariff rates come down and the efficiency of the modules increase, there is a need to also think of alternative avenues to install ground-mounted PV systems, he further stated.

“One good option is to float a solar plant on water. For instance, NTPC is on course to commission India’s biggest floating solar power plant of 100 MW capacity at Ramagundam in Telangana. This model has other advantages such as conservation of water through reduction of evaporation. Such projects can be replicated elsewhere too. Similarly, rooftop-mounted solar is a feasible and sustainable option that needs to be encouraged,” Naidu added.

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