How Serious are Indians About Going Solar?

Indian Government is looking forward to becoming a solar country by 2030. With a solar installed capacity of 36.9 GW as of 30 November 2020, solar power in India is developing fast. The government, which had an initial target of 20 GW capacity for 2022, achieved its goal four years ahead of schedule.

How Serious are Indians about going solar? Here is news from near and far corners of India that shows people in the country are keen for change. 

Solar Light Price

Due to the frequent accidents, the traffic police in Uttar Pradesh have decided to install solar lights and speed cams along all the national and state highways in Uttar Pradesh. Though the initiative is to curb road accidents, it certainly steers towards the future of solar India. The maintenance cost of solar street lights on toll roads is included in the toll fee, said the concerned official.

The changes are also seen in South India. Earlier this month an official of Dharmapuri District Transport Department stated that 100 solar street lamps would be installed along the stretch of the accident-prone 4km stretch of Thoppur Ghat. Thoppur Ghat road of Salem-Bengaluru National Highway that covers 8 km has 4 km of crucial bends and inclines that witnessed several accidents. D Damodaran, the regional transport officer stated that 70 solar lamps of 100 have already been installed and the department is hurrying up to install the rest. 

Assam government provides solar lights for anti-poaching camps that come under different protected areas of Assam to ease the duty of forest protection field staff during their patrol. Once again solar lights proved to be essential for the people in India. 

If the concerned officials took the initiative to light up all the government roads using solar street lights for the road, not just the electricity can be saved, but can also have a huge financial savings. As a result every road in the country would be well-lit. Lesser road accidents are guaranteed along with the safety of the travellers on foot. In a country like India where the graph of the economy faces unpredicted ups and downs, utilising the inexhaustible source of energy has become crucial.