Kerala to design policies to boost solar energy

Kerala is embracing changes in the energy sector and are designing new policies in sync with the changing trends. The policies aim at effective use of solar energy across the fields and also in finding new sources of energy. An 18-member committee comprising experts have been constituted to work in this regard. Since the usage of electric vehicles is on the rise, the consumption of electricity is bound to increase considerably in the coming years. The newly formed committee will formulate methods to boost the use of solar energy. They will look into the possibilities of fixing solar panels on vehicles and also on the feasibility of operating V2G (vehicle to grid) in which electricity will be passed on to the grid from the vehicles. A policy draft shall be submitted to the government before February 15. The committee is presided by KR Jyothilal, who is the additional chief secretary of the department of energy. The experts in the committee include Indian smart grid forum president Reji Kumar Pillai, Roorkee IIT professor Arun Kumar and former director of energy management centre Dr VK Damodaran.