300 MW Solar Power Projects Planned By Punjab Govt

Tracing trajectory of renewables

The state of Punjab’s administration has decided to put in place 300 MW worth of photovoltaic (PV) solar power installations. According to an official statement outlining the decision made at a high-level conference held recently, these projects comprise 100 MW floating solar PV power projects on reservoirs and lakes and 200 MW canal-top solar PV power projects.

Minister of New and Renewable Energy Sources for Punjab, Aman Arora, presided over the meeting. The proposed 200 MW canal-top solar project will be erected in stages, with 50 MW being placed in the first stage and the remaining projects being installed in the following stages.

The Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) will carry out these projects in build, operate, and own (BOO) mode, he said. The viability gap funding (VGF) has been proposed to be claimed from the Department of Economic Affairs under the Union Ministry of Finance, under their plan, the minister said when the meeting was examining the viability of putting up these projects. Notably, VGF is created to offer capital support to PPP projects that would not be commercially feasible otherwise.

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The installation of canal-top solar power plants on narrower little distributaries will require less civil construction. After accounting for 20% VGF, the price of the solar PV installations on canal tops is anticipated to be around Rs 5 crore per MW, according to Arora.

According to the statement, floating solar PV projects are another growing concept being implemented in the nation to utilise the potential area on lakes and reservoirs. After accounting for 20% VGF, the price of floating solar PV projects would be around Rs 4.80 crore per MW.

Recently, the Punjab government announced that it was using solar energy to power 1 lakh of the state’s present electric agricultural tubewells. The Union Government granted a request for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to solarize 1 lakh electric tubewells that were connected to the grid while also establishing a goal of 1 lakh pumps for the state.

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