Taking cognizance of the less number of allotments as compared to the applications received under the ambitious Chief Minister Solar Self Employment scheme to provide self employment opportunities in solar power sector, the secretary power and alternative energy Radhika Jha has directed the officers of Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Agency (UREDA) and Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) to expedite the process of allotment of projects.
A total of 529 entrepreneurs have so far applied for the scheme and out of them only 75 projects have been approved by the UREDA. Not happy at the slow pace of the scheme, the secretary has directed that the officers concerned should ensure that the required pendency in the applications are complete so that all the applicants get the approval to start the project.
With an objective to provide self employment opportunities to the youths who have returned back to their native places due to the pandemic of Covid-19 and the small and marginal farmers, the state government launched, Chief Minister Solar Self employment scheme on October 8 last year.
Jha said that on the suggestion of the chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat the solar power plants of 20 MW capacity on 25 KVA transformers have been approved. In a review meeting the CM had suggested that since the Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) mostly has transformers of 25 KVA in the mountainous areas, the solar power plants of 20 MW capacity should be approved. In view of the suggestions made by the district magistrates (DM), the government has made some changes in the process of allotments so that more and more people are attracted towards the scheme.
It is worth mentioning here that the tentative cost of a 25 MW solar power plant is about Rs 10 lakhs. The banks are providing loans for the scheme. A 25 MW plant roughly produces 38000 units of power in a year.
The power produced by the entrepreneur would be purchased by UPCL as per the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the producer. It is estimated that an entrepreneur can earn Rs 1.70 lakh from a 25 MW power plant annually.
