FACTBOX - Key facts about India's 20 GW solar energy plans

A labourer checks the solar panel of a street light at a solar housing complex in Kolkata in this July 8, 2008 file photo.

REUTERS - India is set to unveil in September a target of generating 20 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from solar energy by 2020 under its national plan to fight global warming.

Here is a look at some of the highlights of India's solar energy plans mentioned in draft documents.

* The $19 billion "National Solar Mission" plan spread over 30 years aims to scale up solar power generation from nothing at present to 20 GW by 2020.

* It is a three-phased plan that hopes to generate 1-1.5 GW of solar power by 2012, 6-7 GW by 2017 and the rest by 2020. It aims to cut down production costs of solar panels and spur domestic manufacturing. Money will be spent on incentives for production, installation and research and development.

* The plan has a "near term" target of 100 megawatts, and 100 GW by 2030, or 10-12 percent of total power generation capacity estimated for that year.

* Once implemented, the project will ensure large-scale deployment of solar generated power for both grid connected as well as distributed and decentralised off-grid provision of commercial energy services.

* India says it could cut about 42 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions with its new solar plan. An estimated 20 million solar lights are estimated to save 1 billion litres of kerosene per annum by 2020.

* Solar-powered equipment and applications will be mandatory for hospitals, hotels and government buildings, and villages and small towns will be encouraged with micro financing.

* The plan also outlines a system of paying households for any surplus power from solar panels fed back into the grid. The target would be to provide access to lighting for 3 million households by 2012.

* India will promote solar heating systems and use 40-50 million sq metres of area to install solar collectors in domestic, industrial and commercial sectors.