Odisha to set up solar parks of 1,000 Mw capacity by 2020

The Odisha government plans to add aggregate clean energy capacity of 1,000 Mw by establishing 3 to 4 solar parks in the state by 2020.

The target, fixed by the state government in its draft Odisha Solar Park Policy, 2014, primarily aims at facilitating accelerated deployment of solar energy in the state to support sustainable development and address the climate change issues.

The draft policy will be implemented in two models namely - Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha (GEDCOL) model and private developer model.

In the first model, GEDCOL, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Odisha Hydro Power Corporation, will be the nodal agency for implementation of solar parks. GEDCOL may also partner with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for this purpose. The solar parks must have a minimum capacity of 100 Mw in the first model. However, there is no maximum capacity limit for the solar parks in the policy. In the GEDCOL model, GEDCOL will develop the solar parks where it will be responsible for infrastructural facilities like approach roads, boundary wall, water, auxiliary power, power evacuation facility while in the case of private developer model, the onus will lie on the private developer. The project developers and manufacturers setting up projects in the solar parks will get a VAT exemption on various solar energy equipment.