Efforts on to boost energy storage: Pralhad Joshi

New Delhi: Renewable energy minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday said efforts are underway to support greater deployment of energy storage, particularly from developers side.

"We are working on that, and VGF (viability gap funding ) scheme [for battery energy storage] is also progressing," Joshi said on the sidelines of the international energy conference organised by Confederation of CII. "Battery storage has been given a major push by the government and execution will begin now. Very shortly, you will see the results," he said.

The country recently crossed the 5 million-household mark under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, achieving half of the scheme's target. With the utility-led model, installations are going to accelerate further and the government is confident of achieving its target, Joshi said.


Manufacturing capabilities

Manufacturing resilience and technological capability are central to India's economic security, union minister for steel and heavy industries HD Kumaraswamy said. Addressing the conference, Kumaraswamy said recent geopolitical developments, supply chain disruptions and growing competition for critical minerals have reshaped global industrial priorities. "India should not merely become one of the world's largest consumers of clean energy technologies. India must become one of the world's leading producers of the equipment, materials and technologies that will drive the global energy transition," he said.

Regional energy cooperation

Bhutan's minister of energy and natural resources Lyonpo Gem Tshering said India and Bhutan share an exemplary partnership in the energy sector, with cooperation spanning more than five decades.

"Energy and power trade have been the cornerstone of our bilateral relationship," he said. Sri Lanka's minister of energy Anura Karunathilake said countries in the region should deepen cooperation to accelerate the deployment of sustainable energy solutions.