Saturday, September 27, 2014: On Thursday, the Odisha government shared their plans to establish 1,000 MW ultra mega solar parks or UMSPs across the state. The Union government will be there beside the state to provide necessary assistance, as per official sources.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has been informed by the state government that they will collaborate with NTPC and other PSUs to take the project ahead, under the Solar Park Scheme. Odisha Energy secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra wrote a letter to Tarun Kapoor, joint secretary to MNRE, expressing Odisha government’s willingness to set up solar parks or their mini versions and also stating that land has already been identified for the projects.
Mahapatra’s letter has also asked the MNRE to reserve 1,000 MW capacity for the state of Odisha under the Solar Park Scheme. On 22 September, all district collectors were ordered by Mahapatra to identify land for the projects in the state. Around 5,000 acres of land were asked to be identified by him for solar power generation. Earlier, the Union Ministry directed the state government to identify lands and appoint any suitable PSU to set up UMSPPs in the state.
The state government decided to appoint Green Energy Development Corporation Ltd (GEDCOL) as the nodal agency for project implementation. GEDCOL is the 100 per cent subsidiary of Odisha Hydro Power Corporation Ltd (OHPC). This year’s budget had a provision to set up UMSPPs or solar parks across several states. A scheme is also underway for UMSPP which will allow the Centre to provide financial aid to the state governments.
