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On track to add 10,500 MW solar power: Piyush Goyal

NEW DELHI: India will definitely achieve the target for enhancing solar power capacity and add 10,500 MW in the current fiscal, New & Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday. India has set an ambitious target of adding one lakh MW of solar power generation capacity by 2022 which is five times more than the earlier target of 20,000 MW under National Solar Mission.

The way things are progressing in solar energy sector. We will definitely achieve our target. Solar energy is economically viable," Goyal said at an event here. Some experts and consultancies have expressed apprehension about huge targets of solar power capacity addition during the current fiscal. "Our estimates show that unless challenges like transmission and financing are addressed urgently, the industry will miss the targets by big margins," Bridge to India Managing Director Vinay Rustagi said. However, consulting firm Bridge to India said in its latest edition of India Solar Handbook report released earlier this month that "India is poised to become the fourth largest solar market in 2016, leaving behind three major European solar markets (UK, Germany and France) with expected new capacity addition of 5.4 GW in 2016."

The minister said: "A target of adding 10,500 MW solar power has been set for this fiscal. It is four to five time more than last year (target of 2000 MW). For achieving this target w