India targets renewable energy development

India could be the next hotspot for solar power developments, as it strives to boost green energy capacity to help overcome severe power constraints and cut pollution

The country is primed to build Asia's maiden solar park as part of its wider goal to quadruple generating capacity from renewable sources to 72.4 gigawatts (GW), or nearly 16% of total capacity by 2022. The government hopes the expansion of solar and other green energy sources will fill a huge supply gap, which sees some 50% of the population having limited or no access to commercial energy. Gujarat state will invest more than $2.3bn to build Asia's first solar park, which will provide infrastructure for 500 megawatts (MW) of capacity. Electricity from the facility, which expects 330 sunny days a year, will be sold to the state government, which has agreed to buy power from as much as 933 MW