By IANS,
New Delhi : High prices of fossil fuel, especially oil and gas, have forced energy-starved nations like India to focus on production and use of renewable energy, Minister of New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah said Friday.
“We should be grateful to the Organisation of Petroleum of Exporting Countries (OPEC) for raising fossil fuel prices. Had they not, we would not have come to know the importance of renewable energy,” Abdullah said at PanIIT 2010 Conclave here.
He said the government has taken several initiatives in collaboration with different institutions, including the IITs, to develop innovative, renewable energy products.
“We are investing a lot of money and collaborating with institutes like IIT.”
On the government’s target of producing 20 GW of solar power by 2022, Abdullah said: “1,300 MW will be produced by 2013 and we are hopeful of achieving the target.”
Abdullah asked young graduates to show entrepreneurship and help increase the production of renewable energy.
“You should not be job seekers. You should be job creators,” said the minister. “It is the people coming out of the IITs who will shape the future.”