Program set with ADB, PCCI and RP GOVT AGENCIES
WELCOME HON MINISTER DR. FAROOQ ABDULLAH.

Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy, Government of India since May, 2009. Thrice Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir between 1983 to 2002. Four terms in two Houses of Indian Parliament.

He is an ardent Golfer, fond of photography and classical music. He is widely travelled and arrived on Sunday June 19th via SQ from Singapore. He will depart on Wednesday June 22.

PHILIPPINES AND INDIA ARE NOW PARTNERS IN RENEWABLE ENGERY. THE ARRIVAL OF OUR HONORABLE MINISTER WILLNOW SET THE PACE.

Wind energy, with an average growth rate of 30 percent, is the fastest growing source of renewable energy in the world and India, with an installed capacity of more than 10,891 mega watts, occupied the fifth place in the world in generation of the same after USA, Germany, Spain, and China.

Philippines is eager to expand in this direction and has shown interest in this area. Over a year ago, President Arroyo signed Republic Act 9513, The Renewable Energy Act (believed to be the most comprehensive renewable energy law in all of Southeast Asia) which aims to accelerate the exploration and development of renewable energy resources like solar, wind, hydropower, ocean and bio-mass energy. The Department of energy is spearheading this initiative.
In a recent study, the University of the Philippines Solar Laboratory (UPSL), reported the country’s renewable energy potential such as small hydro (2,308 MW), solar (4.7 to 5.4kWh/m2-day), wind (7,404 MW) and geothermal (4,000 MW).

India is to launch an ambitious solar power drive, targeting 20 GW of installed capacity by 2020, and 100GW by 2030. This would under its countrywide action plan, the National Solar Mission.
The targets include grid parity for solar by 2020, and parity with coal-based thermal power generation by 2030. The plan also outlines targets for up to 5GW of installed solar manufacturing capacity by 2017.
Government and public building will have mandated solar installations, with a proposed target of 100MW installed by 2020. The government will consider tax breaks and subsidies and will also put in place solar feed-in tariffs, to encourage growth in the sector.

India is committed to acquiring optimum and an environmentally-friendly mix of primary resources for energy generation. Participating in discussions at an Energy Minister’s Round Table during the plenary session of the Third World Future Energy Summit held earlier this year in Abu Dhabi, Dr. Abdullah said: “We are working for development of renewable energy sources using the latest technological developments for around three decades now to meet our energy requirements from these energy sources as much as possible."

"Compared to many other countries, our progress is good. Millions of decentralized energy systems, solar lighting systems, irrigation pumps, aero-generators, biogas plants, solar cookers, biomass gasifiers, improved cook stoves are now being used in the country," he added.

"India today stands among the top five countries in terms of renewable energy capacity, with an installed base of over 15 GW, which is around 10% of India’s total power generation capacity and contributes over three percent in the electricity mix. The contribution in grid connected power right now is mainly from wind, around 11000 MW. We have already identified a potential of near about 100, 000 MW from wind, biomass and small hydro sources in the country," Dr. Abdullah said further.
He also revealed that the Indian Government had recently approved a new policy on development of solar energy in the country by launching of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission.

Describing it as a historic and transformational initiative, he said the Solar Mission had a twin objective - (1) To contribute to India’s long-term energy security and ecological security, and (2) Ensure the rapid development and deployment of various renewable energy sources to facilitate high solar radiation availability in our country.

"The Solar Mission aims to “leapfrog” and thus place India in a leadership position globally in development, manufacturing and deployment of solar energy technologies. A goal of 20,000 MW of grid interactive solar power is envisaged in a three stage plan by the end of the thirteenth Five Year Plan in 2022," Dr. Abdullah said.

He said the implementation of the National Solar Mission would proceed on the basis of the technology advancements and cost reductions.

The plans include establishing an investor-friendly mechanism that reduces risk and at the same time, provides an attractive, predictable and sufficiently extended tariff for the purchase of solar power, he added.

Suggesting that there is an enormous scope of cooperation amongst the countries to achieve technological advancement in this area, Dr. Abdullah said it is possible to harness lower wind speeds, the energy of tides and waves can be channelized to produce electricity, alternate transport fuels can make our journeys less carbon intensive, hydrogen can be an ideal energy storage and carrier.

He also said that it is possible to have a transcontinental grid with lowest losses of electricity.

"We only need to translate the research results to realities, to products that can benefit all of us. If all of us try together, we will succeed at a much less time period," the minister said.

Farooq Abdullah, son of Sheikh Abdullah, was born on the 21st of October 1936 in Srinagar in Kashmir. His father was a nationalist leader and chief minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Farooq Abdullah is a doctor of medicine and has served the country as a Chief Minister on many occasions since the year 1982. He represents the political party which is known as Jammu and Kashmir National conference.

Farooq Abdullah was appointed as the President of the National Conference on the 21st of August in the year 1981. He was a beginner then in the political arena of Jammu and Kashmir. His major eligibility was that he was the son and heir of the nationalist Kashmiri leader, Sheikh Abdullah.

The government under Abdullah was substituted with a pro-Congress government under Ghulam Mohammed Shah in the year 1984. Farooq Abdullah was dismissed because of his refusal to get into an alliance with the Indian National Congress in the 1983 assembly election. His decision went against the then Congress president and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Later in the year 1987 Farooq Abdullah counterfeited an alliance with the Congress and came back as a temporary chief minister.

Farooq Abdullah is married to Molly Abdullah, a nurse of British origin who mostly lives in England. He has supported the formalization for the Line of control as the international border between India and Pakistan and had also advocated sovereignty for Jammu and Kashmir within the constitution of India.

At present he is an active and popular politician and has handed over the responsibility of his party to his able son Omar Abdullah. He contested during the Indian general election 2009 from the Srinagar, Lok Sabha constituency and won it in a massive margin. Because of the alliance of his party, the National conference with the ruling party, the Indian National Congress, Dr. Farooq Abdullah was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister on the 28th of May 2009 and presently, is the minister of new and renewable energy. His son Omar Abdullah is a member of Lok Sabha and has become the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
Last Nov 2009, The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), one of the key trade bodies for Indian
businesses, has welcomed a decision by India’s cabinet to target 20GW of solar power by 2022. Known as
the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, the targets would position India as one of the world
leaders for solar power, with a total estimated cost of between $18.5bn and $22.8bn. 1GW of capacity is
expected to be installed by 2013.
‘The Indian solar energy industry can easily rise to the challenge of bringing solar energy to the forefront to help India address the twin challenges of energy security and combating global warming and climate change,’ said Chandrajit Banerjee, director general, Confederation of Indian Industry.
CII said that the higher cost of solar electricity over conventional power sources would be mitigated by market expansion and technological development, and that the technology would be a good fit for India’s rural areas, where extending the grid network would not be technically feasible of economically viable. The solar mission includes a target of servicing with 20 million rural homes with solar lights, as well as one million rooftop solar installations.
The CII has also welcomed the massive potential growth in trade and employment that the mission would bring to India, which envisages 100,000 solar specialists by 2020 and a major emphasis on domestic manufacture. According to the plan, India can currently make 700MW of photovoltaic modules, but the aim is to increase that to 20,000MW a year by 2017, and establish expertise in solar thermal technologies.

Hon. Minister will be the keynote speaker in Abu Dhabi in the year 2011 at the forum summit listed below.
Since its inception in 2008, World Future Energy Summit “WFES” has evolved as the world’s foremost and must-attend annual meeting for the renewable energy and environment industry. In 2010 WFES uniquely brought together over 24,760 attendees from 130 countries including world leaders, international policy makers, industry leaders, investors, experts, academia, intellectuals and journalists to find practical and sustainable solutions for today’s energy security and climate change challenges.

WFES promotes innovation and investment opportunities surrounding renewable energy and environment. It represents an unrivalled business platform bringing together project owners and solution providers with investors and buyers from both the public and private sectors

WFES includes a world class summit, two exhibitions, young future energy leaders program, round table discussions, industry and investment seminars, corporate meetings and social events.

By VISHNU HATHIRAMANI
www.rpindia.info
vishnu@skybroadband.com.ph