Emphasising on the need to create awareness amongst the people on solar energy for domestic consumption, Punjab Governor Shivraj V Patil on November 26 asked the State government to make a concerted effort and decentralise the process of harnessing solar energy.    

The Punjab Governor, while presiding over a high-level meeting to review the untapped potential of solar energy, said every household across the state should be encouraged to have Solar Photo Voltaic (SPV) Panels on their rooftops to augment such energy generation, an official release said.    

He opined that solar energy should be made a mass movement to meet the power supply in domestic, agriculture and industrial sectors besides being used by religious institutions and shrines.    

Patil underscored the need to encourage manufacturers of SPVs to set up their units in the state in order to ensure sufficient supply of these panels.    

Solar energy could also be tapped with the installation of SPVs along the banks of the vast canal network in Punjab, Patil added. The State government should make it mandatory for all public as well as private buildings, especially upcoming housing clusters, to have SPVs, he said.