Will Provide electricity to 42 villages, 4,000 rural homes eliminate carbon dioxide pollution as 53500 trees annually?
NEWS By: RASHMI TALWAR
Awan (Amritsar): On the ides of December the fierce Punjabi sun was harnessed to produce electricity in the first ever Solar Power Plant in the country.
Ushering in new hope for present and future energy needs as Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy on Tuesday inaugurated the 2 MW Solar Power Plant proposed to be expanded to 5 MW in District Amritsar, in the presence of Punjab Deputy Chief Minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal and local MP Navjot Singh Sidhu.
The plant set up by Solar Company Azure Power in IPP Mode in the decrepit village Awan about 40 Kms from Amritsar city was a scene of activity since early morning.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Abdullah said it was the first step of India towards a future of renewable energy taken by Punjab Government in fulfilling the target of producing 20,000 MW Solar Power by year 2020 under its Solar Mission plan. He further added that India was committed to the production of clean energy power to save future generations from the effects of global warming. He said that his Ministry was targeting to produce 1300 MW power from new energy sector within next three years. Abdullah assured positive response to the demand of Deputy Chief Minister to enhance subsidy of Solar Tube wells for Punjab.
Welcoming Dr. Abdullah, Deputy Chief Minister, and Badal assured him that this experiment of Awan would be soon replicated in total border belt of Punjab with three Solar Power Plants of 10 MW each in each border district. He informed that Punjab has already achieved 282 MW in Renewable Power Sector and was aiming to increase it to 700 MW by the year 2011. He said that State has an ambitious programme to produce 300 MW power from 20 million tonnes rice husk, through 28 biomass plants being set up in Punjab. About the present plant he informed that the first solar plant would provide electricity to approximate 42 villages and help light up 4,000 rural homes while eliminating as much carbon dioxide pollution, close to 53500 trees do annually.
Demanding restoration of enhanced subsidy on Solar Tubewells to the previous rate of Rs. 1.80 lac instead of present rate of Rs. 50,000, Badal said that farmers of Punjab, despite 50s percent deficient rains in Punjab have produced record 150 lac tonnes paddy for the national pool, spending over additional Rs. 3000 crores on diesel. Mr. Badal said that as Punjab farmers were performing the national duty, the New Energy Ministry should immediately sanction enhanced subsidy of Rs.1.80 lac for new 10,000 tubewell connections in Punjab.
Vishavjit Khanna, Secretary, Science Technology and Environment informed that PEDA was performing pioneering role in attracting entrepreneurs in clean power sector. He said that PEDA has come out with zero cost models to provide efficient street lights in all urban areas of Punjab.
T.P.S. Sidhu, Chief Executive Officer, PEDA informed that Punjab under the NRSE Policy-2006 has achieved a total installed generation capacity of 282 MW and it is proposed to increase this capacity to a total of 700 MW by the end of the 2011.
Expressing his commitment to expand this 2 MW Plant to 10 MW, Inderpreet Wadhwa, CEO, Azure Power said that his company has already received sanction for 5 MW plant and has applied for expanding it into 10 MW.
