Assocham wants AP to include large projects in solar sector

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) today said the procedure adopted by the Andhra Pradesh government for developing 1,000 Mw of solar power projects in the private sector required changes.

In a letter to Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, association secretary general DS Rawat said the bid proposal was not practically feasible in its execution strategy and did not suit any developer to set up these projects.

While the government's policy encourages the establishment of small ticket projects with 1-2 Mw capacity, it is desirable to attract some major industries to set up large-scale projects in the range of 50-100 Mw as the total capacity proposed under the present round is huge, according to him.

The association has made a set of recommendations in the bid proposal, including enhancement of time lines for completion of projects and prescribing financial and technical qualifications to eliminate non-serious players.