Rajasthan CM approves allotment of 4,780 ha for solar projects

Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma has approved the proposal to allot 4,780 hectares of land to set up four solar projects, an official statement said on Sunday. The move is aimed "to make Rajasthan a leader and self-reliant in the field of energy", it said.

According to the proposal, 4,780 hectares has been allotted to Rajasthan Solar Park Development Company to set up three solar parks of 2,450 MW in Bikaner district and about 910 hectares to NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd to set up a solar project of 500 MW in Phalodi district. Two solar parks of 1,000 MW each and one of 450 MW will be set up in Bikaner district. Approval has been given for allotment of about 1,881 hectares in village Surasar of Pugal tehsil for the first solar park, as per the statement. Similarly, 2,000 hectares will be allotted for the second solar park of 1,000 MW, of which 1,194 hectares are in Surasar, and about 807 hectares are in Bhanavatawala village, it said. Approval has been given for allotment of 900 hectares in Sardarpura village to set up the third solar park of 450 MW in Bikaner.

These solar parks will be developed by Rajasthan Akshay Urja Nigam in three phases under the Solar Park Scheme of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of the central government, it said. Sharma has also approved the allotment of 910 hectares in Bhadla village of Phalodi district to NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd for setting up a 500 MW solar project. The chief minister said through these projects will help fulfil the state's resolve to be self-reliant in the field of energy. He said these projects will not only create employment opportunities at the local level, but also give new impetus to economic activities in the region. Sharma said these solar projects will also play an important role in environmental protection and will reduce carbon emissions by about 2 lakh tonnes annually.

Through these projects, an investment of about Rs 10,000 crore will be made in the state, the CM said. Being an MNRE approved project, 33 per cent grants will be received and it can be completed in the next two years. According to the statement, the state government signed MoUs worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore on March 10 between Rajasthan State Electricity Generation Corporation Ltd, NTPC Ltd, NTPC Green Energy Ltd, Coal India Ltd and NLC India Ltd to set up 3,325 MW thermal projects and 28,500 MW renewable energy projects under joint venture.