Dr Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy and Shri SushilKumar Shinde, Union Minister for Power have jointly unveiled the guidelines for selection of new solar power projects under the 1000 MW solar power scheme in the first phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. This would put India in league with countries like Germany, Spain and Japan who are leaders in harnessing solar power, said a statement released by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Farooq Abdullah said that he is committed to adding 1100 MW of grid connected solar power by the end of the first phase of the Mission and this will only be possible if all activities are carried out with clockwork precision.
The Minister informed the gathering that a tremendous excitement both domestically and internationally about our National Solar Mission was evident from the fact that the small grid connected plants scheme that was recently launched attracted nearly 400 MW worth of applications- nearly 4 times the available capacity.
He said that he has asked IREDA to ensure that it should announce the list of eligible projects selected under the scheme latest by August 15, 2010.
Dr Abdullah anticipated a similarly large response in the large grid-connected power plants as well and expressed hope that NVVN will now take immediate steps to bring out the expression of interest, invite applications and select eligible developers under the policy released.
The new and Renewable Energy Minister also acknowledged the effort put in by both the Secretaries and their team of officers, scientists and experts involved in the process for operationalising the Mission in record time.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Shinde said that the guidelines have been finalised after considerable deliberations in true spirit for the success of the National Solar Mission. He said that the NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN), a wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC, is the nodal agency for entering into PPA with Solar Power Developers and will shortly be inviting project developers to participate in the Request for Selection (RFS) for development of Solar Projects under this scheme.
Site Map
COMMENT
Comment on this article