New initiatives in renewable energy in the offing

Energy Secretary Ajay Mishra on Friday said the Telangana government was readying new initiatives in the area of renewable energy in which the State is nearing the pole position on the back of solar power projects, with an installed capacity of over 3,600 MW.

The lull that prevailed for a year now because of the elections would be broken once the model code of conduct is lifted after two months, the senior official said. “After the elections, we will come up with new initiatives in the renewable sector… they are in the discussion [stage] now,” he told the inaugural session of a conference coinciding with the two-day RenewX-2019 expo that opened at Hitex.

Tracing the growth of solar energy sector in the State, he said Telangana was able to save over ₹450 crore by preferring a distributed generation model to the solar park model that was adopted by several States and in many parts of the world.

“We went for the distributed generation of solar energy, as part of which the State, through a process of demand-supply analysis at different locations, issued tenders for projects of varying capacities. It led to quantifiable benefits in the form of avoiding transmission and distribution losses of ₹50 crore as well as ₹450 crore that otherwise would have been spent, under solar park model, on creating transmission infrastructure,” he said.

In the distributed model, the generation is at a location not far away from the consumption centre and the power is wheeled over the existing infrastructure. The senior official said it was time an exercise was also initiated to study the environmental impact of renewable energy, particularly with regard to the disposal of solar panels.

TSSPDCL Chairman and Managing Director G. Raghuma Reddy said from 50 MW at the time of Telangana formation, the renewable energy capacity in the State now was 3,873 MW.

The State being the first mover in solar energy, however, has been burdened with solar power at high prices ranging from ₹5.17-6.90 per unit. Hence, financial prudence is required in procuring energy from renewable sources in future.

Over 100 exhibitors are participating in RenewX, which is being organised by the UBM India.

source- The Hindu