Solar Cities in Uttar Pradesh

Solar Cities in Uttar Pradesh: In the National Conference under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in Gorakhpur, the Uttar Pradesh government decided to develop all 17 municipal corporations of the state as solar cities.

• About Solar Cities: Promotes the use of renewable energy for achieving energy self-sufficiency and environmental protection.

o Implementation of schemes like: Solar power plants, Solar street lights, and solar water-heating systems, supports the 'net-zero' target set by PM Modi for the year 2070.

o The 17 Municipal Corporations in Uttar Pradesh include: Kanpur, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Agra, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Meerut, Bareilly, Aligarh, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Gorakhpur, Firozabad, Mathura, Ayodhya, Jhansi, and Shahjahanpur.

• Solar City: It is a city that meets its energy needs primarily from solar energy.
• Objective: Maximize the use of renewable energy sources and reduce carbon emissions.
• About National Clean Air Programme (NCAP): Aims to systematically address air pollution by involving all stakeholders and ensuring necessary actions.
• 131 cities identified for implementing city-specific action plans.
• Objective: First national-level effort to develop a framework for air quality management with a focus on time-bound pollution reduction.
• Targets to reduce PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations by at least 20% over five years (base year: 2017).
• Monitoring: The PRANA portal (launched by MoEFCC) monitors - Implementation of NCAP → Progress on city-specific action plans → Sharing of best practices across cities.