Gujarat aims to become the solar power capital of India by the end of the year, going by the power purchase agreements signed between developers and state-run power utility Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL). These pacts guarantee a fixed 958MW of solar power to be supplied to GUVNL that will be made available to the state power grid by 31 December.
The Gujarat government chalked out its solar policy in 2009 ahead of the Centre’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission.
Under the state policy, at least 84 solar projects are to be built in various parts of Gujarat.
According to a recent assessment by the state government, 32 projects, including 22 in the solar park at Charanaka village in Patan district, with a combined 400MW capacity were on track and are likely to be commissioned by December, said a senior government official who did not wish to be identified. Other projects may miss the year-end deadline because of financial tie-ups, land clearances, and carbon credit and grid evacuation issues.
