- Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission is also known as the National Solar Mission.
- The mission was launched in January 2010 by the Government of India.
The Target for National Solar Mission
- It had set a target of 20,000 MW of grid-connected solar power by 2022. It was revised in June 2015 to 1,00,000 MW by 2022.
The 100 GW solar power capacity has been divided into:
- Rooftop solar electricity generation – 40 GW
- Large and Medium Scale grid-connected solar projects – 60 GW
- To achieve 15 million sq meters of solar thermal collector area by 2017 and 20 million by 2022.
- To deploy 20 million solar lighting systems for rural areas by 2022.
Benefits of Using Solar Power
- Energy security
- Mitigation of adverse impacts due to Climate change
- Reduction in pollution and health benefits.
- Reduce dependence on fossil fuels that put a strain on foreign reserves and ecology.
- The solar manufacturing sector will get a boost
- Help in the creation of technology hubs for manufacturing
- Increased manufacturing capacity and installation
Achievements of the National Solar Mission
- To reduce the risks of solar power producers, Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) was established as a major procurement agency.
- Creation of larger projects to bring down capital investments in solar power generation projects through the development of integrated solar parks to provide infrastructure for solar power plants.
- The renewable energy corridor was also launched to develop a dedicated transmission grid for areas with an abundance of sunlight or wind to create solar and wind energy.
- Solar radiation monitoring stations were set up across India.