High growth seen in renewable energy sector
THE production of renewable energy technology has become a high growth industry. Annual worldwide sales are now estimated at $6 billion, according to Dr Arcot Ramachandran, President of Solar Energy Society of India (SESI).
In his presidential address at the inaugural session of the National Renewable Energy Convention 2001, Dr Ramachandran said that wind and solar photovoltaics industry was growing at 20 to 30 per cent per annum.
The three-day national convention is being held here by the Regional Engineering College of Warangal, in association with the Centre for Energy Technology of Osmania College of Engineering and the Non-Conventional Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh.
Dr Ramachandran said that there is little doubt that solar energy applications can provide commercially attractive options to meet specific needs for energy services. Entrepreneurial opportunities, including those in energy services, open the door for the private sector in unprecedented ways.
Among all the solar technologies, photovoltaics technology has the greatest potential for a breakthrough. Among the emerging technologies, copper-indium/gallium-diselenide and cadmium telluride have great promise as commercial technologies.
Besides, the prospects for biomass energy conversion technologies were on the upswing. The economics of wind power has also been improving over the years.
