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Five decentralised solar power plants of a combined capacity of 9.28 megawatts (Mw) were installed in Jaipur district last week, which are expected to benefit over 1300 farmers, a state government official said.
“Through these decentralised small solar power plants with a total capacity of 9.28 Mw, 1314 agricultural consumers falling in the respective 33/11 KV substation areas will be able to get electricity during the day,” the official said.
The plants were installed under the government’s PM-Kusum scheme.
Component A of the scheme provides for the installation of grid-connected plants with a maximum capacity of 2 Mw, and Component C provides a maximum of 5 Mw. The five plants were installed under the Component C.
The Central government provides an assistance of up to ₹1.05 crore -- 30 per cent of the cost-- for the installation in Component C.
It is noteworthy that these plants are not being installed by industrialists or large commercial groups. Farmers, either on their own or in collaboration with a developer, are installing these plants on infertile land near their farms.
The official pointed out that till now, 121 plants with a total capacity of 237 Mw have been made functional in Jaipur Discom under Component-A and Component-C of the Kusum scheme.
Through which 24,208 farmers are getting electricity during the day for agricultural work.
These plants have been installed with a capacity of 4.06 Mw in Sunel (Jhalawar), 0.83 Mw in Peeplu (Tonk), 2.29 Mw in Brahmabad (Bharatpur), 1.25 Mw in Radawas (Jaipur District Circle North), and 0.85 Mw in Deoli (Tonk).
The official said that 1,018 solar power plants with a total capacity of 2,170 Mw have been installed so far in Component A and Component C of the Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Ajmer Electricity Distribution Corporations.
This is enabling daytime electricity supply to more than 133,000 farmers.
More than three-quarters of these plants, 780 with a total capacity of 1,766 Mw, have been installed in Jodhpur Discom alone. Similarly, 117 plants with a capacity of 168 mW have been commissioned in Ajmer Discom, the official said.
He said efforts made by the state government have made a difference.
“Continuous efforts were made at the discom level to remove obstacles to plant installation under these schemes. After issuing the Letter of Award, the processes related to solar plant installation and power purchase agreements were ensured to be resolved expeditiously,” the official said.
The post of Superintending Engineer (Kusum) was created at the headquarters level to expedite the processing of files. SOPs were issued to expedite the completion of technical procedures related to meter testing, transmission line installation, and transformer installation. Assistance was provided in resolving disputes regarding right-of-way and lease land, and in securing loans from financial institutions, enabling solar power generators to complete their projects quickly, he said.
