Skill development centre to come up at Charanka solar park

With Gujarat being the leading solar power producer in the country there is also increase in demand for skilled persons to maintain solar panels and related infrastructure at solar power parks.

To bridge this gap, the state government plans to set up a skill development centre at the Gujarat Solar Park in Charanka village of Patan district of north Gujarat. The Asia's largest solar park spread across 5,384 acres generates 590 Mw solar power.

The skill development center will be set up by the state-run PSU Gujarat Power Corporation Ltd (GPCL), which has already appointed a consultant for the project. "The skill development centre is likely to come up in next fiscal 2015-16," said a senior official of the GPCL. He informed that they plan to build a secondary and higher secondary school in the region where students could study science subjects.

The primary objective of the project is provide skills to youth, studying in class 9, 10, 11 and 12, in the villages in vicinity of the solar park. "We plan to teach these students skills of maintaining solar panels and other aspects related to solar power generation. This will help the local students gain employment near their own village. Further making them self-reliant," the official said.

Under the project GPCL also plans to impart skill like plumbing, agriculture, handicraft, repair of electrical and electronic equipment. There would also be special skill development programmes for women of the villages near the solar park.

To encourage women to join the skill development centre, GPCL would initially go to the villages and propagate the skill development programmes and its benefits.

In a bid to promote use of renewable energy GPCL has initiated a project of running electric buses for public transportation between twin cities of Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad.

This project includes purchase of 15-40 seater buses along with setting up of solar-power based electric charging stations at regular distances on the over 35 km long stretch between the two cities. The project is in final stages of completion.

In the country Gujarat has emerged as leader in solar energy sector. The state tops the list of solar power generating states in the country with total commissioned capacity of 860.4 Mw.

Gujarat is followed by Rajasthan at 666.75 Mw till January 31, 2014. In fact, the total commission capacity in India stands at 2,208.36 Mw, of which Gujarat constitutes 39%.

The state-run Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd has entered into 88 power purchase agreements (PPAs) for procuring 971.5 Mw for a period of 25 years at the rate of average Rs 12.54 per unit.