India's Odisha state to set up solar project company

Oct 8, 2012 - The government of India’s Odisha state, also called Orissa, will form a new company Odisha Green Power Corp Ltd to promote the development of large-scale solar projects, The Hindu Business Line said in the weekend.

The idea for the establishment of the company was unveiled on Saturday by Odisha's Energy Minister Arun Kumar Sahu at a solar conference.

Odisha Green Power is likely to act as a unit of Odisha Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC). The latter owns lots of land suitable for solar projects and already plans to install as much as 22.6 MW of solar power at three hydropower project locations, the report said. OHPC is also planning to put solar panels on top the state's canals.

In addition, Business Line quoted B K Misra, a member of the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission, as urging the bigger industries in the state to install solar panels on their roofs.

Earlier this year the Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA) said that the state's renewable energy potential stood at 16,230 MW, with solar power potential alone estimated at 14,000 MW. The state can install up to 1,700 MW of wind power, 350 MW of biomass, 160 MW of small hydropower and 20 MW municipal waste-to-energy facilities.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!