Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], April 26 : To meet state's annual energy consumption which is approximately 13,000 million units, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has set a target to meet more than 90 percent of this demand from renewable sources, an official statement said.
In line with Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's directions, the state government has accelerated the development of small hydropower projects - up to five MW capacity - in recent years. Over the past three years, seven small hydropower projects with a total capacity of 17.25 MW have been started, 12 projects with a of 23.80 MW have been completed and 18 projects with a capacity of 47.90 MW have been sent for approval, a release said.
Additionally, five projects of 12.65 MW have received technical approval, supplementary implementation agreements for capacity enhancement and other related approvals have been signed for seven projects of 25.7 MW. Another, 76 new applications for allocation of projects totaling 75 MW are being processed, it added.
The state government has decided to establish five solar parks with a total capacity of 501 MW and various solar energy projects of 212 MW. A 200 MW solar power plant would also be set up on barren land in Damtal of Kangra district.
To ensure transparency, the state government has adopted a "First Come, First Serve" policy for allocating solar projects ranging from 250 KW to five MW. The electricity generated from these projects will be purchased by the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board. So far, 547 investors have been allotted 595.97 MW of ground-mounted solar projects and power purchase agreements for 403.09 MW have already been signed, a release said.
The state government has launched the Green Panchayat Programme, under which 500 KW ground-mounted solar projects are being installed in all of the panchayats across the state. The 20 percent of the revenue generated from these projects will be used to provide assistance to orphans and widows in the respective Gram Panchayats, it added.