Centre, state plan solar SEZ in Gujarat

Clinton Foundation's proposed 'Solar Integrated City' project may come up in a special economic zone. The Central government has recently approached the state to consider setting up a solar SEZ in Gujarat.

"We are currently examining the benefits of setting up solar projects in an SEZ. The Central government has written to us and we are in turn looking at merging Clinton Foundation's proposed park with the SEZ," said a senior government official close to the development.

Clinton Foundation is in the process of identifying a suitable location for its proposed solar park project which can generate about 3,000 MW of solar thermal power and is billed as the world's largest solar project. The investment for the project could be about Rs 35,000 crore and the Foundation could further increase the project size to 5,000 MW which will further scale up the investment size, sources said.

DK Mittal, additional secretary, department of commerce, government of India had written a letter to the state's energy department for considering a Solar SEZ in the state, sources said.

Clinton Foundation will bring in leading developers and financial partners besides potential investors for the project. Leading international firms like Asian Development Bank and International Finance Corporation could be roped in by Clinton Foundation to fund the project, government sources said.

Besides Kutch, two more locations including Jharad in Banaskantha and Shantalpur in Patan district are being considered for the project and an MoU will be signed between Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) and Clinton Foundation in first or second week of September. Clinton Foundation is scouting for about 15,000 acres of GIDC land for the project.

The Foundation had initiated trials with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in Kutch last year. Clinton Foundation chairman Ira Magaziner met chief minister Narendra Modi in June and discussed the project details. The project is also tagged as one of the largest foreign direct investment (FDI) into the state.