MNRE approves Odisha’s 18 Mw solar rooftop plan

Odisha got a green signal for setting up of an 18 MW solar rooftop project by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) department.

A pioneer in a rooftop solar project in the nation, Odisha, has already solidified plans to scale up capacity by covering key urban cities and towns.

Odisha hopes to better the execution of different states in the scale of usage of solar powered housetop ventures.

The state has already completed 4 Mw rooftop top projects in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The undertakings were executed by Azure Power Mercury Pvt Ltd.

“The Ministry has given its approval for replication of the rooftop project in Odisha of 18 Mw capacity similar to the twin city rooftop project. About 600 government buildings covering 17 cities and towns will be used for generating solar energy in PPP (public-private partnership) mode,” said an official.

The towns to be covered for the implantation of solar rooftop projects are Sambalpur, Burla, Hirakud, Rourkela, Puri, Khurda, Berhampur, Chhattrapur, Jeypore, Koraput, Sunabeda, Balasore, Bhadrak and Baripada. Buildings without solar rooftop projects in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar are also likely to be incorporated.

The official also said that “The developers will be selected through a tender to be floated by state-run Green Energy Development Company Ltd (Gedcol) after the withdrawal of the model code of conduct (for elections).”

The rough estimation for the development of 1 Mw solar rooftop project is around Rs. 7 crores.

Developers will get around 30 percent subsidies from the ministry which will be steered through Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha Ltd. (GEDCOL), the authority said.

In its Renewable Energy Policy-2016, the state government intends to achieve 2200 Mw of solar energy vitality limit by 2022.

Odisha gets an average solar powered radiation of 5.5 kWh/square meter region with a normal Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) ranging from 15-17 percent over the areas and around 300 clear bright days consistently every year.