Monday, March 10, 2014: Through a consortium, three Canadian companies have put forth a proposal for FDI in Odisha for a solar project on 2,500 acres of land. The firms proposes to invest about $1 billion (of about Rs 61,000 million) in Odisha for developing a 500 Mw solar power plant and solar panel manufacturing unit.
The consortium consists of the three companies, the Sarus Solar Inc, a manufacturer of solar panels and like equipment; Guycan Solar, an engineering procurement construction company and Mackie Research Capital Corporation, an investment firm. According to Jason Deonarain, president, Sarus Solar Inc, the company has enough financial resources and abilities to fund such a venture.
Currently, 13 Mw of solar power is being produced from the state from various units. Most of these are set up by private companies. As per the data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with an average of about 300 clear sunny days, Odisha gets an average solar radiation of 5.5 Kwh/sq m. According to Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency, a state undertaking. the feasible potential for power generation in the solar photovoltaic route has been estimated at 8,000 Mw.
Recently, the government here had announced an Odisha Solar Policy 2013, in line with the National Solar Mission. The government has announced exemption from sales tax and electricity duty for the companies that will invest in solar projects. These firms will also get land allocation from Green Energy Development Corporation (Gedcol), a nodal agency for development of solar power projects in Odisha. However the proposed projects need 2,500 acres and Gedcol said the consortium might buy the land on their own.
