The Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) will soon get a software prepared for managing its project works online.
The online platform will be utilising open source technologies, official sources informed. Chhattisgarh is planning to add 2640 MW of additional renewable energy capacity by financial year 2018-19, officials informed.
The State currently has total renewable energy potential of 4,500 MW which includes solar (grid connected and roof top), wind biomass and small hydro. The State has also planned to install solar powered pump sets for agriculture consumers which will benefit 16,000 consumers. It may be recalled that there are significantly more number of villages which are to be electrified in Chhattisgarh using the off-grid (solar) mode than the grid-based (conventional power supply) mode.
As per the latest data available with the Union Ministry of Power, a total of 543 villages have to be electrified under ‘off-grid’ mode compared to 101 through the conventional power supply grid as on May 31, 2016.
The State will soon also launch a ‘Solar Community Irrigation Project’ for drawing water extracted using solar pumps for supplying to the agricultural land of farmers across the State. The pipeline extension project to be executed by CRED would be undertaken shortly, officials informed.
Notably, the Centre last year had approved Raipur and Bilaspur to be developed as ‘Solar cities’ in Chhattisgarh. The State Government has commenced preparation for setting up 51,000 solar powered irrigation pumps in a span of two-and-half-years.
The Government has set the target of setting up 11,000 solar pumps in the current financial year till March 2017 and the rest during the next two years. This was announced in the review meeting chaired by Additional Chief Secretary, Energy Department, N Baijendra Kumar in a meeting of the officials of CREDA in Raipur recently.
The Systems Integrators who would establish the solar energy systems also participated in the meeting. Kumar also informed in the meeting that very soon a Toll Free number would also be established for the farmers under the project.
