The government of the Indian state of Assam is to provide about 120 ha for the installation of a solar power facility.
Piyush Goyal, the Union minister of state for power, said the state was taking the initiative in keeping with the central government’s thrust to build the nation’s clean energy capacity.
The proposed facility will have a capacity of 40 megawatts.
India plans to achieve its target of power-for-all by including renewable sources in significant proportions in its energy mix.
By 2022, the country proposes to develop its renewable energy project capacity to 175 gigawatts.
That would include 100-gigawatt solar power projects and 60 gigawatt of wind power besides 10 gigawatt of power from biomass-related initiatives.
Goyal said the government of Assam should also explore the options to set up “river-top” and “canal-top” solar panels.
In recent times Indian states including Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have been increasing their share of renewable energy projects.
Telangana, the newest state in India, is working toward energy self-sufficiency as part of which it is devoting greater attention to renewable sources.
In the past week Telangana moved a proposal to increase the solar power capacity of the state by 2gw.
Ajith Kumar S