Industry & Economy - Non-conventional Energy
Bengal, Gujarat, Rajasthan to play major role in solar power


Kolkata, Dec. 28

West Bengal, Gujarat and Rajasthan will be the major participants in the National Solar Mission (NSM) as these three States together will produce nearly 30 per cent of the targeted 20,000 MW solar power in the country by 2022, according to Mr SP Gon Chowdhury, Managing Director of the West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation.

Addressing media persons on the sidelines of the 23rd Industrial India Trade Fair here on Monday, Mr Chowdhury said, “West Bengal has set the target of producing 110 MW solar power by 2013 involving investment of Rs 1,500 crore by different companies”.

A total of 15 MW solar power was currently generated in the State and the total investment in this in last three years was Rs 800 crore, he pointed out.

Mr Chowdhuty indicated that Gujarat and Rajasthan were expected to generate 130 MW and 100 MW solar power respectively in three years.

The Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Mr Farooq Abdullah, recently declared the target of producing 1,300 MW solar power in the first phase of National Solar Mission by 2013. “We would soon send a proposal to the Centre to block 110 MW solar power and to connect the same to the power grid,” Mr Chowdhury said.

The West Government, he pointed out, had targeted to set up one lakh solar home lighting units in the Sstate in two to three years under the Centre-sponsored Decentralised Distributed Generation Scheme.

The State was also expected to manufacture solar modules capable of producing 500 MW power by 2022, he said. The national target in this regard is 5000 MW.

A number of companies, including Webel, Reliance Industries Ltd, Videocon, Moser Baer and Astonfield have rolled out their investment plans in the renewable energy sector in West Bengal, Mr Chowdhury said.

The State was also expected to produce 5 MW solar power from “rooftop projects”, he added.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal IT Minister, Mr Debesh Das, said that there was need to manufacture solar panels from raw silica in the State.

“Though a lot of companies are interested in generating solar power, we also need to be self reliant in raw materials,” he said.