It has been announced that 54 cities in India will be designated “Solar Cities”. In related news, grid connected photovoltaic projects worth 1.04 GW are said to have been commissioned under the first phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM).
The Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Farooq Abdullah has given, “in-principle”, approval to the development of 54 solar cities.
Overall, 8 master plans are said to have been approved for eight cities – Agra and Moradabad from Uttar Pradesh; Thane and Kalyan-Dombivli from Maharashtra; Indore from Madhya Pradesh; Kohima from Nagaland; and Aizawl from Mizoramand Chandigarh – and the development of projects is reportedly underway. A further 20 draft master plans have been developed.
According to a statement released, a total of Rs. 19.23 crore (around €2.6 million, US$3.5 million) has been approved for the preparation of master plans, solar city cells and promotional activities for 41 cities. A further Rs. 11.98 crore has been allocated for the execution of renewable energy projects in five cities.
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