Around 200 individuals in the state will now be known as
'power farmers', thanks to Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Agency
(UREDA) that has roped in natives to set up solar power generation plants on
their land.
Around 200 individuals in the state will now be known as
'power farmers', thanks to Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Agency
(UREDA) that has roped in natives to set up solar power generation plants on
their land. These farmers will directly supply the renewable energy to the
state government at a fixed price of Rs 4.35 per unit.
Under the scheme, solar power plants will be set up in all
the 13 districts of the state. "Right now, 200 individuals have been
selected to set up solar plants in villages, while we we are still getting
proposals from people living in urban areas in the plains to set up solar panels
on rooftop of their house. We plan to establish over 300 such plants in urban
areas," an officer said.
The infrastructure for the plant, like solar panels, battery
banks and grid-tie metre, was already put in place in the villages four months
ago.
Chief project officer of UREDA, Arun Tyagi, said "The
individuals will be called power farmer. The solar power plant will be set up
on their land and a power purchase agreement will be signed for selling the
energy generated. They will generate power and earn from directly selling it to
the state government." Tyagi said that the selection process for the
scheme has been completed and all the plants will be operational in next five
months. "70% of the funds are been provided by the central government,
while the state government is giving 20%. For the remaining 10%, individuals
will have to take loans from banks," he said.
The solar plants, between 5 KV to 500 KV in capacity, will
be set up depending on the space availability. The cost of solar plant is Rs
70,000 per KV and people opting for the scheme, will earn money by selling the
power to state government. The officer claimed that under the village-level
scheme, UREDA is expecting to build solar power plants with a total capacity of
1,000 in the next four month.
"Each individual will be able to earn Rs 1,500 to 2,000 per month, after
paying off loans and other expenses." He further said that all the
technical assistance and know-how to set up the plant will be given by UREDA.
For commercial solar power production in plains, the UREDA office in Dehradun
is flooded with over 300 proposals to set up plants in different districts.
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