West Bengal Gets Proposal for 800 MW Solar Project

West Bengal has received a proposal for 800 MW solar power project with an estimated investment of Rs 3,000 crore from a private investor

The West Bengal government has received a proposal for 800 megawatts (MW) solar power project with an estimated investment of Rs 3,000 crore from a private investor, state Power Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay said.

Speaking at the ‘10th Energy Conclave’ organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) the minister said that the Power purchase agreement (PPA), however, will be the key to execute the project. “We have received an offer for 800 MW solar power project in a single location from a private investor.”

Chattopadhyay, however, said the investor was seeking to get the PPA for the project before it proceeds further. Without PPA, bankers are not keen on financing any power project, sources said. “They already have about 500 acres of land of their possession and have not asked for any assistance in acquiring more land,” the minister said.

The minister further clarified that there was “no scope” to link this solar project with the proposed 1000 MW Turga pumped storage hydel programme in Purulia.

The plan to feed the pumps through 1200 MW solar power plant was scrapped due to unavailability of a contiguous large tract of land. Owing to this, the subsidy from the clean energy fund was not received by the state for the project, he said.

In July, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) had revealed in its audit report that West Bengal had failed to create a Green Energy Fund (GEF) under the renewable energy policy of the government. The responsibility for creation and management of the energy fund was thrust upon the state’s nodal agency, West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation Ltd (WBGEDCL), which has not taken any serious initiative in this direction, the CAG said. 

“GEF was to be created with an equity contribution of the West Bengal government and contributions from international donor agencies. However, the WBGEDCL did not take any initiative to create the fund,” it observed in the March 2017 audit report.