Odisha asked to identify site for solar park

State will also appoint a public sector power company to develop the park

In line with the announcement made in the General Budget for 2014-15, the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has asked the state government to identify site and appoint a public sector power company to develop a solar park in the state.

The PSU will be the designated agency for developing the project.

The Centre has made provisions in the Union Budget for setting up ultra-mega solar power projects (UMSPP)/ solar parks in various states. The MNRE is in the process of framing a scheme for providing financial assistance to such projects. The parks have to be developed by the state government or PSU and if required, the state can also go for a joint venture with Solar Energy Corporation of India.

While the solar parks can be of various sizes, any single project above 500 MW will be declared as UMSPP.

The required land for the projects will be provided by the state government.

"The implementing agency will then develop the park with basic infrastructure like roads, water etc. The Grid connectivity will be provided through state transmission utility or power grid corporation for which a part of Central assistance can be used," Tarun Kapoor, joint secretary, MNRE wrote to Secretary, Energy department, Odisha.

"We are also trying to arrange some loans from multilateral/ bilateral international lending agencies to cover the remaining cost. The project developers will then be able to get developed land with all required clearances and grid connectivity for setting up of solar projects under various schemes of Government of India or state government or for third party sale or captive use," read the letter.

Laying emphasis on the New and Renewable energy, the Budget has set aside Rs 500 crore for taking up UMSPPs in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Laddakh in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). An additional Rs 100 crore is set aside for the development of one MW solar parks on the banks of canals.

The state Energy department has asked Green Energy Development Corporation (GEDCOL) to identify the site for setting up of solar parks and furnish a proposal for its implementation to the Centre.