PANJIM: A delegation of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Goa led by Chairman Brajesh Upadhyay, called upon the Union Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy, Shripad Naik, for a discussion on effective implementation of central government schemes for promoting solar energy adoption in the State.
The delegation commended the Ministry of NRE for conceptualising and implementing forward-looking policies like ‘PM Kusum Scheme’ and the ‘PM Surya Ghar Bijli Yojana’ to ensure renewable energy on every rooftop in India but highlighted the delay in disbursement of Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to more than 200 prosumers in Goa who have applied the scheme and connected their systems to grid between March 31, 2023 and February 15, 2024, which is adversely affecting the efficacy of the central subsidy programme in the State.
Furthermore, while the delegation appreciated the Goa government’s initiatives to amend and launch the Goa State Solar Policy 2023 to promote solar power generation in the State by bringing open access and captive into force, it also raised concerns over clause 4 of the policy which mandates to establish 20 per cent of the installed capacity with battery enabled storage system facility as it significantly increases installation costs and discourages wider adoption of the solar power in the State.
The delegation further extended an invitation to Naik to grace the 3rd edition of the CII Conference on Sustainability as chief guest of the event and interact with the industry stakeholders to brainstorm on the potential solutions to the key challenges faced by various stakeholders in the renewable energy sector of Goa.
The delegation comprised prominent figures from Goa’s renewable energy sector such as Anirudh Agrawal, Ankur Pramal, Anish Sousa, Amol Shirodkar and Manoj Sail.
