Foundation Day of AREAS | 29 Aug 2020

Why in News

On the 6^th Foundation Day (27^th August 2020) of the Association of Renewable Energy Agencies of States (AREAS), the government has launched a website and telephone directory for AREAS.

Key Points

• Agenda Behind AREAS: State Nodal Agencies (SNAs) for Renewable Energy (RE) interact and learn from each other’s experiences and also share their best practices and knowledge regarding technologies and schemes/programmes.
• Members: The Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy (NRE) is the Patron of the Association and Secretary, MNRE is the ex-officio President of the Association. All SNAs are members of the Association.
• Formation: It got registered under Society Registration Act, 1860 on 27^th August 2014.

Renewable Energy Initiatives in India

• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is the nodal Ministry of the Government of India for all matters relating to new and renewable energy.
  
  • New and Renewable Energy sources include solar energy, geothermal energy, wind power, hydropower, biomass, etc.
• In September 2019, at the United Nations Climate Action Summit, India announced increasing the renewable energy target to 450 GW by 2030 from 175 GW by 2022.
• In its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), India has pledged to increase the share of non-fossil fuels-based electricity to 40% by 2030.
• The Green Energy Corridor Project aims at synchronizing electricity produced from renewable sources, such as solar and wind, with conventional power stations in the grid.
• Recently, Indian Railways has contacted solar power developers to meet the net zero carbon emission target by 2030.
• Sector Specific Initiatives:
  
  • Solar Energy:
    
    • International Solar Alliance
    • One Sun, One World, One Grid (OSOWOG)
    • National Solar Mission (a part of National Action Plan on Climate Change)
    • Pradham Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyaan (PM KUSUM)
    • Atal Jyoti Yojana
    • Suryamitra Skill Development Programme
    • Solar Park Scheme and Grid Connected Solar Rooftop Scheme
    • Rewa Solar Power Plant
  • Wind Energy:
    
    • National Wind Resource Assessment programme
    • National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy 2018
    • National Institute of Wind Energy, Tamil Nadu
  • Waste to Energy:
    
    • Programme on Energy from Urban, Industrial, Agricultural Wastes/Residues and Municipal Solid Waste
  • Bio Energy:
    
    • Biomass power & cogeneration programme
    • Biogas Power Generation (Off-grid) and Thermal energy application Programme (BPGTP)

Source: PIB