·        Government promoting solar energy generation by purchasing power at higher cost

·        Increase in generation will lead to reduction in cost; purchase price will come down in new agreements

·        Pilot project for solar energy generation on roofs will be launched in Gandhinagar

Gujarat Government is promoting power generation through solar, wind and biomass energy in a big way despite the fact that generation through non-conventional sources involves high cost. Gujarat is well ahead of the other states when it comes to utilization of non-conventional sources of energy obviously thanks to state’s encouraging policies. Shri D J Pandian, Principal Secretary, Energy & Petrochemicals Department, Government of Gujarat, expressed hope that in the past, Gujarat Government has purchased solar power at the rate of Rs. 15 per unit and at present, the purchase price is around Rs. 10.27, but the price would come down to about Rs. 7 to 8 in future.

“In solar power generation, Gujarat already has installed capacity of 150 MW and this figure is expected to go up to 300 MW by January, 2012, 500 MW by August, 2012 and 700 MW by September, 2012. Gujarat Government has already entered into power purchase agreement for 900 MW of solar energy,” Shri Pandian added.

Shri Pandian was addressing the fifth India Energy Conclave organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Ahmedabad and the main theme of the session on the second day was “Future Trend”. “Gujarat Government is considering to launch an ambitious project under public-private partnership for solar energy generation on roof of various buildings in Gandhinagar. Government plans to generate power through solar energy by putting up solar panels on the top of government premises, industrial units, buildings in GIDC estate and school buildings.            The 5 MW project will be undertaken with assistance from IFC and World Bank. Residential areas will also be covered under this project later on. If only 20% area of each roof is used for solar energy generation, it will lead to significant power generation,” he further said.

Even in coal-rich countries, power generation is becoming a costly affair due to higher incidence of taxes and too high cost of the feedstock. As a result, utilization of non-conventional energy sources has become essential. Expressing such view, he said, “Australia has imposed 20% carbon tax on coal. This implies that we have to pay for the pollution in Australia.”

Shri M. M. Vijayregia, Director, Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation, said, “Rajasthan Government offers incentives for solar energy generation in order to increase the overall generation. The government has also set up “Rajasthan Solar Development Company” for the purpose. It offers land at various places such as Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Badmer at just 10% of the market price just to encourage solar power generation. As all of these are desert areas, farming is not possible and that is why we are using it for solar power generation. The government is also extending financial assistance to purchase modules and offering good prices for the purchase of power. As a result, companies from other states are also coming to Rajasthan to set up solar power plant.”

Shri Sudhir Trehan, Chairman, CII India Energy Conclave-2011 and Energy Expo-2011, said, “The reserves of fossil fuels are depleting and the prices of these fuels are on the rise. In such a scenario, we are left with no option other than green energy. Global warming and climate change have also become a major cause of concern. So we are compelled to use non-conventional sources of energy. At present, cost of wind and solar energy is too high, but it is expected to come down to the level of thermal power with the change in technologies and research going into power generation through non conventional sources in next four to five years. The Central and the state governments are also encouraging generation through non-conventional sources, although we need to launch more sincere efforts for power generation through these sources.”

It is worthwhile to mention that various companies from across India have participated in the Energy Expo-2011 in large numbers.

Ahmedabad, 2 December 2011