Edu Minister inaugurates clean energy laboratory at tech varsity

Delhi’s Education and Power Minister, Ashish Sood, today inaugurated the Yogi Goswami Clean Energy Laboratory at DTU (Delhi Technological University), calling it “a milestone in India’s clean energy journey and a symbol of the country’s Atmanirbharta vision.”

The Minister underlined India’s rapid progress in clean energy under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. “India has already achieved its 2030 target of 50 per cent clean energy share,” he said.

He highlighted that in June, clean sources constituted 31 per cent of the national electricity needs while coal dependency dropped by 3 per cent. India’s installed non-fossil fuel capacity now stands at 224.8 GW, including 117 GW solar and 51.7 GW wind energy.

“Clean energy is not tomorrow’s dream, it is today’s responsibility. With DTU’s innovation, we will ensure Delhi becomes a national benchmark for sustainable, responsible and future-ready governance,” Sood added.

Sood also praised Delhi’s initiatives, mentioning that the Delhi Legislative Assembly was the first in the country to run entirely on solar power with a 500 kW plant, while rooftop solar subsidies had been raised to Rs 10,000 per kW.

The laboratory, established as part of the Nodal Centre of Excellence in Energy Transition (NCEET) at the tech varsity, was made possible with the support of Prof Yogi Goswami, a distinguished alumnus from the class of 1969. The facility will serve as a hub for innovation, bringing together academia, industry and society to develop practical solutions for energy transition.

Prof Prateek Sharma, DTU’s Vice-Chancellor, congratulated the university community on the inauguration, emphasising the responsibility of engineers and scientists in ensuring development became more sustainable through innovative methods. Durga Das Agrawal, a 1967 alumnus and founder of Piping Technology & Products in the USA, praised the creation of the laboratory.

India aims to become a net-zero economy by 2070.