‘Rural electrification can only come from renewable sources’

India cannot talk about greatness when the country has a 95% import dependence on oil and 40-45% import dependence on coal,said Deepak Gupta,secretary of the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy,adding “this means a small country like Libya can control us”.

Speaking at an Assocham conference on “Waste to Energy” in Ahmedabad on Wednesday,Gupta also said that India’s energy demand-supply gap is “not likely to be breached,not in the near future,not ever” and that “400 million people in our villages” remain without electricity today. “In my view,rural electrification in this country will only come from renewables,” he said.

The official said Gujarat has been doing well in the renewables sector and that the state should look towards its large dairy and animal husbandry sectors as potential renewables generators.

Commenting on the state capital’s solar plans,however,Gupta said he did not recommend solar panels because they were expensive and the city has enough electricity anyway. ENS