Bangalore: To fuel the economy growth by providing sufficient power to the rural areas, the government has said a National Solar Mission will be taken up shortly. "The villages can be electrified either through solar or wind energy. Today, solar power is very expensive costing Rs 15 per unit and we are making all efforts to bring it down," said Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Farooq Abdullah.


Abdullah said that he would meet all Chief Ministers to ensure that solar energy is tapped in each state and incentives are given for the purpose. On the part of the Centre, tax sops are available for fixing solar panels, he added. The Minister said that a lot of work has been done to look at various options including geo-thermal, wind and solar energy in Ladakh and Kargil regions.

Abdullah points out, "The solar panels are expensive as silicon is used in it, but a research in California has come out with a solar panel without silicon and that may reduce the cost." Even otherwise, he said, "The Centre was giving various concessions and the UPA government wanted to see more villages using solar or wind energy."