Fossil fuels will soon be a thing of the past in India, at least as far as coal goes. Clean energy production has become a necessity, bypassing it’s status of being the ‘responsible thing to do’. In recent times, our country has been heavily boosting solar power as a viable and better alternative. Kerala’s Cochin International Airport recently became the first airport in the world to run entirely on solar power. 46,150 panels laid across 45 acres power the 7th busiest airport, with plans laid out for doubling the capacity. The world’s current, largest solar power plant resides in California. But there are plans for building a solar power plant in Madhya Pradesh that will surpass the one in California. The plant is aimed to be up and running by March 2017.
As a consequence, the cost of providing solar power will become increasingly affordable. When leaders of 14 Pacific Island Nations met in Rajasthan for a summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged support to nations that can’t afford solar power facilities. 121 of the world’s warmest countries have joined the cause to invest in solar power technology and use it bring electricity to not just India, but to the billion people around the world who live without it. Energy Minister, Piyush Goyal, supports the claim of solar power being a better and cost-efficient option than coal. The long-term outcome of switching to solar power is constructive, not just monetarily, but also in reducing our carbon footprint and bringing about a change in the climate.
