Bhubaneswar, Aug 22 (PTI) The Odisha government has asked its renewable energy development agency to come up with cost-effective incentive schemes to promote domestic use of solar power in the state, according to a statement.

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Chief Secretary SC Mohapatra has directed the Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency to explore options for incentivising private use of such green power, it said.

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In a virtual review meeting, the chief secretary told officials to prepare a plan for promotional activities and popularise use of solar-based agricultural equipment, water heater, lights and green-powered machines.

New solar technologies in the fields of cold storage, drinking water, millet processing, sewing and rope-making were also discussed in the meeting, according to the statement issued on Saturday.

The agency has 4 lakh renewable energy installations till July and has been able to reduce emission of more than 30 tonne of carbon dioxide per year, OREDA's Chief Executive Officer Dhananjaya Swain said.

The OREDA executed 1,163 rooftop solar projects with a total capacity of 12.3 megawatt and 2.44 lakh biogas plants.

It also developed 13,219 solar-powered drinking water projects and distributed 1,687 irrigation pumps and 82,033 green lanterns, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)