Panel seeks investment in sustainable energy
New Delhi   11-Jun-2010

In its march towards becoming one of world's largest economic superpowers, India will have to intensely look at alternate sources of energy for a sustainable growth pattern, a panel of experts in the field of energy said on Thursday.

At a discussion on "Energy security towards a sustainable future" during the Energy Summit organised by hindustantimes.com and apex industry body Confederation of Indian Industries, stakeholders from the government, bureaucracy, private and public sectors came together to share their views.

"The two major sources of energy that... provide answers to the question of energy security are nuclear and solar energy," said B.K. Chaturvedi, member, Planning Commission. "We have to work intensely on these counts and reduce our reliance on oil and coal-based energy"

"Oil security is very important to the growth of an economy as our dependence on oil is very high," said B.M. Bansal, Chairman and Managing Director, IndianOil. "Maybe we have to look at some of the ways adopted by China in South Africa."

With the price of crude expected to go over $100 per barrel, the panel said costs will continue to rise.

While the government is deliberating whether to free pricing of fuel, the experts were unanimous that subsidies were not a sustainable model and investments in areas like nuclear and solar energy needed to be increased.