India to achieve target of 500 GW renewable energy by 2030, says Union minister Piyush Goyal

RAJKOT: Union minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal on Monday praised the Gujarat model of renewable energy and said that the state will play a crucial role in achieving the country's target of 500 GW renewable energy by 2030.

He said that 2 schemes of the central govt ensured that citizens got empowered and self-reliant in energy through solar power.Addressing a seminar about Solar Dividends during the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference at Rajkot on Monday, Goyal said, "The previous govt set a target of 20,000 MW of renewable energy by 2030, but soon after taking charge in 2014, PM Modi set a target of 1 lakh MW renewable energy capacity by 2022.

Various reforms resulted in widespread renewable energy projects, and the cost of solar power also reduced significantly with the reverse auction mechanism.

"Gujarat is a leading state in renewable energy, and the state alone set a target of 100 GW renewable energy by 2030, which will help the country achieve the 500 GW renewable energy target, he said. Gujarat is the growth engine of the country, and its progress will fuel the growth of India.

"Gujarat initiated Vibrant Gujarat summits, and all other states now started similar initiatives, and various states are competing to attract investments.

Now, Gujarat started organising regional summits, and other states will also get inspiration from this. Ultimately, I foresee that in the coming years, various districts will compete to receive more investments," he said.Currently, India has around 50% renewable energy capacity out of a total 500 GW power generation capacity, and now we are moving towards 500 GW renewable capacity alone, he said. "PM Surya Ghar and PM Kusum schemes empowered common people and farmers in utilising solar energy," he said.