Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal has said that Varanasi, the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is set to become world's first 100 per cent clean-energy city, overtaking Germany's Munich. Several development works are currently underway in the city where renewable energy is also being promoted in many ways.
India aims to make the spiritual city of Varanasi the world's first clean energy city, ahead of Germany's Munich, which is scheduled to reach the goal by 2025. "In this way, the world's oldest city can also become the first major city to be powered fully by clean energy," Goyal said.
The minister has directed officials to begin construction of suitable infrastructure for the project, including power storage and distribution work, said an official statement. This project reinforces the country's ambition towards clean energy and successfully deal with the challenge of climatic change.
Goyal had earlier said that India will work towards its goal of installing 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy by 2022. Currently, the country has 12GW solar power, over 32GW wind power, 4.4GW small hydro-power and 8GW bio-power-generation capacity.
Further, Goyal met the vice chairman of German development agency GIZ (German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation) and also proposed a partnership with India's Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL).
He also checked for long-term funding and partnerships in grid-balancing and electric-vehicle development, besides meeting businesses keen to establish manufacturing units in India.
