India spurs solar development

Within the next two years, Indian power plants will bring an additional 1,100 megawatts online, of which 184 megawatts will be supplied by solar power and photovoltaic plants already under construction with an additional 620 megawatts of construction on the drawing board, India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy reported.

Indian Minister of Renewable Energy Deepak Gupta, in announcing the country's ambitious solar program, noted that projects were under way that would allow India to achieve the government's target of 20,000 megawatts of solar power by 2022.

Gupta added that his ministry's primary objective is to reduce the price of solar energy and to stimulate new research and development.

India has nearly 1.2 billion inhabitants, with a rapidly growing electricity demand, which has averaged as much as 8 percent annually over the past 15 years.