Tuesday, September 24, 2013: In the coming three years, the Gujarat Government is planning to install nearly 60MW solar power generation capacity on houses through roof-top units. Moreover, it also stated that it is thinking about a policy with the aim of attracting manufacturers in solar power sector.
“Gujarat will now mainly concentrate on roof-top solar power, since it offers enormous potential. If we cover only 20 per cent of the houses, which works out to be about two million, we can install solar generation capacity of about 2,000 Mw, which is a big thing,” Business Standard quoted Gujarat Principal Secretary, Energy & Petroleum department, D J Pandian during one-day conference on ‘The Future of Solar Energy in India’ organized by Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI) in Gandhinagar.
“So we plan to install about 60 Mw capacity in next three years through this (roof-top units) route. Tenders for 5 Mw roof-top solar power generation in five cities namely Rajkot, Mehsana, Bhavnagar, Vadodara and Surat are ready and waiting approval from GERC (Gujarat Electricity Regulation Commission),” Pandian added.
“We have been successful in reducing the capital cost of a roof-top solar power plant significantly and Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd is in the process of setting up a 10 MW canal-top solar power plant on SSP canal network near Vadodara,” Pandian stated.
Apart from this, other issues that were taken up for discussion at the conference includes upgrading renewable energy mini-grids for rural electrification, financing for solar power projects, reforms needed in the financial assistance for solar in India, innovation and global deal, auxiliary industries and their impact on solar industry, power storage technologies, human resource development in solar energy, etc.
