Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government on Monday announced that the state has witnessed 55 per cent reduction in carbon emissions in energy production after the implementation of the Solar Power Policy, on the occasion of World Environment Day.

"The state government initiated the Gujarat Solar Power Policy 2021 on 29 December 2020 and in the last 2.5 years, 9.32 million tonnes of less carbon have been emitted in energy production across the Gujarat," a statement said.

It added, "Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the guidance of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Gujarat is taking a lead to make India a ‘Net Zero Carbon Emission’ country by 2070."

Talking about the contribution of the Department of Energy towards environment conservation, Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) said, "Due to a significant increase in the installed capacity of renewable energy in Gujarat, there is a need to reduce dependence on conventional ways of energy production. Consequently, there has been a substantial reduction in carbon emissions from energy production in Gujarat."

"If we examine the figures, there has been a decrease of 26.74 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in April 2023 compared to a decrease of 17.42 million tonnes in December 2020," the GUVNL said in a statement.

Additionally, following the announcement of the Solar Policy, GUVNL has secured agreements for 6180 MW of solar power and 1100 MW of wind power, it said.

This will lead to an estimated reduction of 11.06 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over the next three years, it added.

Gujarat Government is placing great emphasis on the development of renewable energy sources to meet both present and future energy demands, as per the communique issued by the state government.

Consequently, the share of renewable energy, comprising solar, wind, and hydro energy, accounted for 35 per cent of the energy mix in Gujarat, with an installed capacity of 13,039 MW as of December 2020, it said.

This capacity has increased to 20,432 MW by April 2023, representing a remarkable rise of 44 per cent in the total energy share, it added.

The state government aims to enhance the installed capacity of renewable energy to 80 per cent by 2030.

The government intends to meet 50 per cent of the state's energy requirements through renewable energy sources, highlighting its commitment to sustainable and clean energy solutions.

The efforts of the state government will not only create a sustainable energy ecosystem in Gujarat but also contribute significantly to achieving low carbon emission targets, the release said.

(With UNI inputs)