President for increasing energy efficiency in building sector

NEW DELHI: To effectively manage the rising demand of power, President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday stressed on increasing energy efficiency in the building sector and utilising renewable energy.

"It is essential that demand management becomes a priority. Therefore, increased energy efficiency in the building sector and utilisation of renewable energy are key strategies to contain this form of growing energy demand," he said.

His observation came in light of Planning Commission reports stating that energy supply must grow at a rate of 6.5 per to 7 per cent per annum in order to meet the nine per cent growth rate of the economy during the Twelfth Plan period.

Referring to the report at a conference on 'green design', the President noted the share of electricity consumption by the buildings sector alone is about 35 per cent of the total electricity consumption in the country.

However, to achieve sustainability in face of increased demand for resources, he asked policy makers at all levels to address the issue of environmental pressures.

The urban bodies must make certain aspects compulsory while introducing a set of incentives and disincentives so that developers fall in line on the issue of construction of environmental friendly buildings and the bigger houses and complexes also follow this approach, he said.

"States where a significant part of construction is yet to take place should ensure construction of sustainable habitats. Besides, all central ministries need to promote this in their respective sectors," he added.

He congratulated the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for development and implementation of GRIHA- the indigenous green building rating system of India.

On the occasion, he gave away GRIHA awards to individuals and organisations for demonstrating environmental responsiveness, energy efficiency and for making significant efforts to adopt renewable energy integration in their respective buildings.