CM of Himachal pledges to make his state India’s first “Green State”

Himachal Pradesh aims to meet 100 percent of the state’s energy needs through renewable and green energy sources to become India’s first Green State…

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said a big takeaway from his budget presentation made on Friday is the state’s commitment to ensure that 100 percent of the state’s energy needs are met by renewable, green sources.

According to CM Thakur, the state will become India’s first “Green State” if it achieves its goal. In Himachal Pradesh, about 12000 million units of power are consumed every year, of which only 2000 million units are thermal. The remaining units are derived from renewable sources.

In his opinion, thermal power is needed by the state for two reasons. “First, the state has had power purchase agreements with thermal power plants for a long time. These thermal power plant obligations will gradually wind down, but will completely end only by 2034. Both fixed costs and actual consumption charges are part of the obligations.

Secondly, being cheaper than renewable power, the state uses some thermal power as round-the-clock power. “But in order to become a Green State, we need to let go of these obligations,” the CM added.

In the 26th Climate Change Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to take India’s non-fossil fuel capacity to 50 Gigawatts by 2020 and to meet 50 percent of its energy needs through renewable energy sources.

CM Thakur stated that he had already raised the issue with the Prime Minister and other senior government ministers. CM Thakur added, “This is a very big idea. It is an attempt to fight climate change as well as to certify that Himachal products are sustainable.” 

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