The Gujarat government has announced a solar power scheme for farmers- Suryashakti Kisan Yojana (SKY) on Saturday enabling them to generate electricity for their captive consumption as well as sell the surplus power to the grid and earn an extra buck.
According to The Business Line, announcing the pilot project of the scheme in Gandhinagar, chief minister Vijay Rupani termed it a revolutionary step towards empowering farmers to generate their own electricity using solar energy and help doubling their income.
As per the scheme, farmers having existing electricity connection will be given solar panels as per their load requirements. The State and Central governments will give 60 per cent subsidy on the cost of project. The farmer is required to take 5 per cent cost, while 35 per cent will be provided to him as an affordable loan with interest rates of 4.5-6 per cent.
The scheme duration is 25 years, which is split between 7-year period and 18-year period. The scheme envisages setting up of separate feeders for agricultural solar energy consumption. Under the pilot project, which is likely to kickoff from July 2, about 137 feeders will be set up. As of today, 22,704 MU or 26% of the total power consumption in the state is consumed by agriculture sector.
