Tamil Nadu govt to buy 2,000 MW of solar power by end of 2015

Says the MoU with Adani will be signed soon

The Tamil Nadu government has said it will sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) to buy 2,000 mega watt (MW) of solar power by the end of this year. 

By end of July alone, Tamil Nadu is expected to buy 1,000 MW solar power, Natham R Viswanathan, minister of electricity, non-conventional energy development, prohibition and excise, said.

In his address at the 14th Green Power International Conference on renewable energy, Viswanathan said Tamil Nadu has set a target to buy around 1,000 MW every year.

"This was delayed due to some court issues, which are cleared now and we will go ahead with our plan," he said.

Viswanathan said the MoU with Adani will be also signed soon. Adani is planning to invest around Rs 5,000 crore to set up a 700 MW solar park in Tamil Nadu. The new park will come up at Ramanathapuram district in the southern part of Tamil Nadu.

The minister said that renewable energy, especially solar power, is the way forward for the state.

Tamil Nadu accounts for 35% of the total wind energy capacity. Its total installed renewable energy capacity is 8,482.64 MW, of which wind energy accounts for 7,500 MW, solar 143.9 MW, co-generation, 659 MW, bio mass 230 MW.

The state is also giving subsidies to encourage people to use solar energy. The subsidy currently stands at Rs 20,000, besides Union Ministry of Renewable Energy (MNRE's) 30% subsidy. To set up 1 KW  after subsidy would take around Rs 45,000 to 46,000, but the saving would be around Rs 10,000 every year. 

One of the major challenges is creating awareness, said Rajesh Lakhoni, secretary, Tamil Nadu government.

"Using solar makes real economic sense," said Lakhoni, who added the state is also planning to bring out Wheat Heat Recovery Policy.

"This was the first summer without any power cut," said Viswanathan, adding that the peak demand every year used to increase 6-8% five-six years before, but now this has increased to 14%.

Per capita consumption of power in the state is highest in the country at 1,017 units as compared to national average of around 800-850 units.