VIJAYAWADA: Measures initiated by the Andhra Pradesh government with regard to energy efficiency and cleaner energy were appreciated by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) Director General Abhay Bakre during a virtual video conference with the State Designated Agencies, following his participation in the Global Clean Energy Action Forum (GCEAF) meeting at Pittsburgh, United States.
Bakre said energy efficiency will enable all the State governments to achieve energy security, provide opportunities to expand economies, create jobs, reduce energy consumption, and cut greenhouse gas emissions, among other things. An integrated approach and concerted efforts from all the States are critical to make India one of the leading nations in the world.
He urged all the States, particularly proactive States such as Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Rajasthan, to aggressively implement energy efficiency programmes and clean energy initiatives. Other States should follow the lead of AP and Kerala in establishing a dedicated body to accelerate the implementation and promotion of energy conservation and efficiency projects. Proactive States in energy efficiency should compete with one another in enhancing clean energy generation, which is useful for employment generation and enhancement of the economy, he said.
Andhra Pradesh has taken a major initiative to increase clean energy generation on a large scale and the State has a total contracted capacity of 7.5 GW of renewable energy i.e. 40% share of the total installed power capacity of 18.8 GW, AP State Energy Conservation Mission officials informed.
Special Chief Secretary (Energy) K Vijayanand specifically emphasised the need for APSECM to continuously focus on both implementation and awareness of energy conservation and energy efficiency programmes for reduction of carbon emissions. APSECM has been asked to develop a roadmap to achieve the State’s energy saving target of 6.68 Mtoe by 2030.