Asian Geographic2017

Renewable

Energy Leaders

INDONESIA

Indonesia is looking to harness

its vast geothermal resources.

The Sarulla geothermal project on

Sumatra, possibly the largest of its

kind, is expected to generate around

330 megawatts

The government’s intention

is for solar energy to power

60 million homes by 2022

that renewable energy projects will generate 60 percent
of the nation’s electricity by 2030, although that seems
over-ambitious; at present, 80 percent of India’s electricity
output is generated by fossil fuels. Moreover, India’s coal
output is actually increasing, with concerns that it may
double by 2020.
Despite these obvious challenges, the government’s
intention is for solar energy to power 60 million homes by
2022 as part of the national goal to produce 40 percent of their
power from non-fossil fuels. At full capacity, the new plant in
Kamuthi is estimated to produce enough electricity to power
around 150,000 homes.
According to a statement by research group Bridge to
India, the new plant has edged India’s total installed solar
capacity across the impressive 10 gigawatt threshold. Owing
to the completion of this massive plant, India is anticipated to
become a leader in the solar market, falling third in the
solar energy output rankings in 2017, after China and the US.
The government aims to quadruple current global solar power
to 1 terawatt by 2030. There are also plans in place to build
even larger solar farms in Andhra Pradesh. ag

SOUTH KOREA

Geogeum Island – which

is South Korea’s sunniest area –

has seen the development of a

25 megawatt solar energy park,

covering an area of over 660,000

square metres

JAPAN

Several disasters have not stopped

Fukushima Province from developing

an offshore wind farm demonstration

project. When the project is

completed, it’s likely to become the

world’s largest floating wind farm

INDIA

Another of the country’s large solar

projects is the Welspun Energy solar

farm, generating 151 megawatts.

Welspun Solar is mitigating

216,372 tonnes of carbon emissions

annually, providing power to

624,000 homes

SOUTH JAPAN

KOREA

INDONESIA

INDIA

Looking Ahead

Chinese industrial group Sany announced plans in December

2016 to set up large-scale wind and solar power projects in

India. The alliance partners with the state government of

Gujarat, with the aim of producing up to 1 gigawatt of wind

and solar power capacity between 2017 and 2022.