SPEECH BY HER EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, SHRIMATI PRATIBHA DEVISINGH PATIL AT THE INAUGURATION OF THE DELHI INTERNATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY CONFERENCE (DIREC)

New Delhi, 26th October 2010

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very happy to participate in the Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference 2010, which is the fourth in the series of International Renewable Energy Conferences, which began after the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. It is a platform for Governments, the private sector, and civil society to jointly address the goal of advancing the use of renewable energy. I am confident that the Delhi Meet will build upon the success of the previous events in Bonn in 2004, Beijing in 2005 and Washington in 2008.

We are living in a time when energy security and climate change are among the issues defining global discourse. For a long time since the very early days, human beings relied largely on natural sources such as solar, wind and wood for energy. Our ancient scriptures speak of "Ekam Adityam" - "the one sun" as the source of inexhaustible energy. It was in the industrial era that there was a major shift to fossil fuel energy sources including coal, petroleum and natural gas. In the contemporary age, there is a high dependency on fossil fuels, which are of limited supply and faced with a depleting stock, besides causing environmental pollution. This has thrown a challenge to look at a more sustainable mix of energy. Natural energy sources - solar, wind, and hydro - are non-exhausting, renewable and also cleaner sources of energy. Moreover, in a world where 1.4 billion people worldwide still lack access to electricity, renewable energy has an important role in providing modern energy access to them. Today, in the era of science and technology, we have the knowledge and means to tap renewable energy sources on a large scale to meet our energy requirements.

Renewable energy is already providing more than 18 percent of the total final energy supply. By 2009, non-hydro renewable power constituted over 5 percent of the global power generation capacity. Solar energy, wind power and other renewable technologies have experienced double-digit annual growth rates for more than a decade. The fastest growing energy technology in the world is grid-connected solar photovoltaics with 60 percent annual average growth rate for the five year period. These trends speak of the immense potential that exists.

As far as India is concerned, it is a growing economy and its requirements for energy are increasing even as we seek to provide access to energy to a large proportion of our population. Energy security for us is a pre-dominant objective. We have in place the National Action Plan on Climate Change, which incorporates a vision of sustainable development with a view to create a pros-perous, but not wasteful society; an economy that is self-sustaining and mindful of our responsibilities to both present and future generations. It has identified 8 National Missions that will promote the development of the country, while also yielding benefits for addressing climate change, including the National Solar Mission, which was launched this year. India is a tropical country, where sunshine is available for longer hours per day and in great intensity. Solar energy, therefore, has great potential as a future energy source. Renewable energy, thus, is an important component of India's energy planning process for achieving its goal of providing reliable energy supply through a diverse and sustainable fuel-mix, that addresses energy security concerns, removes energy deficiency across the country, ensures availability and affordability of energy supply, addresses climate change concerns and prepares the nation for imminent energy transition.

I would like to mention that India is already on a low carbon growth path. It has also done a considerable amount of work in the development and production of renewable energy technologies. Renewable power, excluding hydro above 25 MW installed capacity has reached over 17000 MW, contributing around 10 percent of the country's electric installed capacity. In addition, over 7000 remote and inaccessible villages and hamlets have been provided with basic electricity services through distributed renewable power systems. In an effort to provide clean and efficient cooking energy in the villages, over 4 million family size biogas plants have been set up. Over 3.5 million square metre collector area solar thermal systems have been set up in the country for meeting hot water requirements in domestic, institutional and industrial establishments. Programmes, such as biomass energy including biofuels, new technologies including hydrogen are under implementation. In wind energy, India has the 4th largest installed capacity. Besides enormous potential, a short gestation period in installing wind turbines makes it an attractive option for India. The Action plan for renewable energy by 2022, aims to set up around 85 GW of renewable power, including 20 GW from solar energy.

No discussion on new and renewable energy can be complete without reference to the critical role of Research and Development. I would, therefore, urge that technological upgradation and research be given the utmost attention. A more vibrant and active collaboration of industries with academic and research institutes should also be forged. There should be research partnerships between developed and developing countries to work towards cost effective technological innovations.

India needs an international environment supportive of its endeavour for sustainable development. The international community should collectively extend support to the efforts of developing countries through financial resources and technology transfer. It should be possible for existing climate friendly technologies to be disseminated at affordable cost. All these essential issues must be included for a meaningful discussion and effective outcome of the discourse on renewable energies. India on its part is willing to share its experience in renewable energy with other countries, particularly the developing countries.

We need to use our energy resources optimally and efficiently. Energy conservation must be an integral part of the energy security efforts of our nation. Hence, even as we take steps to increase generating capacity, it would need to be accompanied by efforts for conservation of energy at every level. This is a national responsibility and would require contribution from all individuals, all industries, and all sectors of the economy.

I also believe that there is need to create widespread awareness in the entire population, both urban and rural, about caring for the environment. This subject should be included in the academic curriculum of schools and colleges to sensitize the younger generation about the planet, its resources and the importance of caring for it.

A programme to make the Presidential Estate a sustainable habitat called 'Roshini' has been running for about two years. This initiative has waste management, energy efficiency and usage of new and renewable energy as components. Our effort is to create awareness and a sense of involvement about managing our environs in a responsible manner.

In conclusion, I once again convey my good wishes to DIREC, 2010 for fruitful discussions and success in fostering partnership to promote use of renewable energy.

Thank You.

Jai Hind!