India selects sites for 20 GW of solar parks - report

Nov 24, 2014 - The Indian government has identified 12 locations for the construction of about 20,000 MW of solar power facilities, the Press Trust of India (PTI) said yesterday.

The plants will be installed during the following five years, with each one expected to have a capacity of between 500 MW and 1,000 MW. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE’s) plan envisages the construction of up to 25 parks at various locations throughout the country. Some of the identified sites are in the Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Odisha and Punjab states. The projects will be developed in partnership with state governments, while the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) will act as the implementation agency on behalf of the government.

MNRE is currently in the process of finalising the draft proposal for the projects, MNRE’s joint secretary Tarun Kapoor told the PTI. The draft will then be sent to the Cabinet after which a bidding process can begin, he added.

At present, India’s total installed solar power capacity amounts to 3,000 MW. The government’s goal is to lift it to 100,000 MW by 2022. In the current fiscal year through March 2015, it plans to invest INR 10 billion (USD 162m/EUR 131m) for large-scale solar schemes.

(INR 100 = USD 1.619/EUR 1.305)

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