Solar Cities in UP

• 24 Mar 2025

Why in News? 

In the National Conference held under the National Clean Air Programme in Gorakhpur the Uttar Pradesh government decided to develop all the 17 municipal corporations of the state as solar cities. 

Key Points 

• About the issue: 
  • Under this initiative, the use of renewable energy will be promoted, thereby ensuring  energy self-sufficiency and environmental protection. 
  • The government will implement schemes such as  setting up of solar power plants , solar street lights and solar water-heating systems . 
  • This scheme will reduce energy costs and promote green energy. 
  • This initiative will help in achieving the 'net-zero' target set by Prime Minister Modi by the year 2070 . 
  • The following districts in Uttar Pradesh have Municipal Corporations: 
    • Kanpur, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Agra, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Meerut, Bareilly, Aligarh, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Gorakhpur, Firozabad, Mathura, Ayodhya, Jhansi, Shahjahanpur. 
• Solar City  
  • It is a city that meets its energy needs mainly from solar energy . In this , electricity generation, transportation, water supply and other basic services depend on solar energy.  
  • The main objective of this concept is to make maximum use of renewable energy sources and reduce carbon emissions. 

 National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) 

• About: 
  • The NCAP aims to systematically address air pollution by involving all stakeholders and ensuring necessary action. 
  • Under NCAP, 131 cities have been identified for implementation of city specific action plans. 
• Objective:  
  • This is the first attempt in the country to develop a national framework for air quality management with the goal of time-bound reduction . 
  • It aims to reduce the concentration of coarse (PM10) and fine particles (PM2.5) by at least 20% over the next five years (base year for comparison – 2017). 
• Monitoring:  
  • “PRANA” portal has also been launched by MoEFCC : 
    • To monitor the implementation of NCAP. 
    • Monitoring action plans and implementation status of cities. 
    • Sharing best practices adopted by cities for others to emulate.