Odisha targets 70 Mw rooftop solar projects by 2022

In an effort to harness the non-conventional sources of energy, Odisha targets to generate 70 Mw exclusively from rooftop solar projects by 2022.

"The target to generate 70 Mw from rooftops is likely to see an investment of around Rs 500 crore. The projects are likely to be taken by the government, private companies and individuals," said a government official.

In 2016-17 and 2017-18, the Green Energy Development Company Ltd (Gedcol), the nodal agency for implementation of renewable energy projects, will implement 10 Mw roof top projects at a cost of around Rs 80 crore.

Recently, the Odisha government has signed implementation agreement with Azure Power Mercury Pvt Ltd for developing the country's first grid connected Mw scale roof top project on net metering basis. It will be a four Mw project to be set up on about 190 government buildings in the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. The green energy project will attract around Rs 35 crore private investment and will be implemented by availing central financial assistance through Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

The government is planning to replicate roof top projects in other cities of the state like Berhampur, Chhatrapur, Rourkela, Sambalpur and Burla in the next phase. A detailed roadmap has also been prepared to enable individual roof top owners to avail the benefits of rooftop solar.

Odisha receives an average solar radiation of 5.5k Wh/sqm area with around 300 clear sunny days every year. National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) has estimated solar power potential of the state at 25,780 mwp2.

It may be noted that the state government plans to add a capacity 2,500 Mw of green energy by 2022. This year, the state power regulator — Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) has allowed Rs 30 crore in the annual revenue requirement (ARR) of bulk power purchaser Gridco for 2016-17 exclusively towards purchase of additional quantum of renewable energy.

Odisha is also planning to set up a solar park in Balasore district spreading over 3,000 acres of land. The state government has an in-principle approval for setting up a 1,000 Mw solar park project from the MNRE.