METRO EVENT
Kerala has to balance energy and environment needs
The Kerala government is open to all practical measures that will help the state generate clean , affordable power for future needs , and balance its energy requirements and environmental concerns , Chief Minister Shri . Oommen Chandy said today .
Inaugurating a day-long workshop on ‘ Energy & Environment - Challenges & Solutions ’ organized in the state capital by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation ( KSIDC ), Shri Chandy said the state can neither block development in the name of conservation nor destroy the environment to pursue growth .
“ Finding a balance between the two is our biggest challenge today . The
Government will see any recommendation from this workshop and from public forums on energy , waste management and other pressing issues very positively and see if it can be practically implemented ,” he said .
The Chief Minister said environment concerns have meant that the state has had to rethink its energy options . “ Our focus in the last century was hydel power ; but today we find it hard to get environmental clearances for such projects , which means we now need to concentrate on non-conventional resources such as solar and wind power .”
In his keynote address at the inauguration Minister for Industries and IT
Shri P K Kunhalikutty said Kerala ’ s challenge today is to generate power that is cheap , reliable and cost effective . “ This is the biggest discussion point and everyone must think about it ,” he said .
“ Waste to energy is a good slogan , but talking about is not going to help , we need to see what can be done practically ,” the Minister added . “ There are solutions out there , technologies that have been developed and deployed successfully ; the key is to find which of these will suit the specific needs of our state .”
Minister for Power & Transport Shri Aryadan Mohammed in his special address pointed out that although Kerala generates 28 times
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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
July 2013
METRO mart