New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah  on Tuesday said the country should develop and patronize green energy on a massive scale as it deserved to be given high priority in the current context of global warming to save mankind.

Promotion of green energy was an effective way to save humanity and mother earth, he said,inaugurating a three day international conference on 'Green Energy technologies: challenges in research and Human Resources Development' here.

"The renewable energy ministry is in dialogue with the communications ministry to ensure that all mobile towers were converted into 'green towers by using green energy," he said.

The minister also inaugurated the Madanjeet School of Green Energy at Puduchery University On Tuesday.

He said by 2022 around 20,000 mw solar energy would be generated in the country while plans were intensified to generate tidal wave based energy. There was also a target to generate 11,000 mw through wind.

Dr Madanjeet Singh, founder of South Asia Foundation and UNESCO's Goodwill Ambssador,said that the school should develop into a world class institution.

Vice Chancellor Prof J A K Tareen said the school (claimed to be the first such institution) was designed to offer M.Tech programmes in green energy technology and an M.Tech programme in nanoscience and nanotechnology from next academic year (2010-2011).The project involved an outlay of Rs 70 crore.The conference was organized by the Pondicherry University in association with South Asia Foundation.