GEDA (Gujarat Energy Development Agency), one of the premier organizations and a
forerunner in India has been working in the field of renewable energy development
and energy conservation. GEDA is shouldering the responsibility of a state
nodal agency (SNA) for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sources (MoNRE)
and the state designated agency (SDA) for Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).
GEDA has played a pioneering role in the development of a long-term renewable policy
and implementing of sustainable energy programmes across the state. GEDA’s challenge
has been to make the renewable energy and energy efficient technologies economically
and commercially viable. GEDA was catalytic in the formation of the Commission of
Additional Sources of Energy (CASE) in 1981, which later became the Department of
Non-conventional Energy Sources (DNES) in 1982 and a full-fledged Ministry- MNES
(Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources) in 90s, which is now the MNRE (Ministry
of New and Renewable Energy). The model was then replicated to establish
similar state nodal agencies in other states through out the country.
The renewable energy promotion and popularization programmes in the state have crossed
the over 3 decades of untiring efforts and pioneered several sustainable initiatives;
many of which are the country’s first. GEDA has virtually been the crucible, the
melting pot of ideas to ‘check out’ renewable sources of energy as alternatives
to conventional fuels. The convenient green-n-clean actions in these direction and
milestones achieved have set the pace for Renewable Energy Development in India.
