Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron inaugurated Uttar Pradesh’s biggest solar power plant of 75 MW (101DC) capacity in Mirzapur on March 12. Built at a cost of around Rs.528 crores, the 75 MW solar plant at Vijaypur village in Mirzapur, will generate 13 crore units of electricity per annum.
The power plant has been set up by the French firm ENGIE through a transparent bidding process under the Solar Park Scheme of the New and Renewable Energy Ministry. The electricity generated by the project will be supplied by ENGIE at the rate of Rs.4.43 per unit for a period of 25 years. Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for the project at the rate of Rs.74.25 lakh per MW has been provided by the Government of India for the project.
The Ministry had earlier approved setting up of 4 solar parks in Uttar Pradesh worth the capacity of 440 MW. These solar parks are being set up by Lucknow Solar Park Development Corporation (LSPDC) which is a joint venture of Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and Non-conventional Energy Development Agency (NEDA) under UP Government.
A 50 MW solar power plant has already come up in Allahabad. Another 40 MW solar power is ready for commissioning in Jalaun district. With the inauguration of 75 MW power plant in Mirzapur by the Prime Minister, the total capacity of solar power plants in Uttar Pradesh has gone up to 165 MW. Biddings of 225 MW solar power plants will be opened on 12thApril, 2018.
Earlier, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the International Solar Alliance Summit in New Delhi along with the visiting French President Shri Emmanuel Macron. Representatives from 61 countries along with the Heads of States from 21 countries attended the foundation day ceremony of the conference.
International Solar Alliance (ISA) is dream of the Prime Minister to bring the world together on a platform to promote the use of solar energy and make the solar power available for all at cheaper rates. ISA is the first treaty based global inter-governmental organization set up in India. Its headquarter is located at National Solar Energy Institute (NSEI) at Gwalpahari, Gurugram in Haryana.
The Union Power Minister, R.K. Singh told on this occasion that India is among the pioneering countries in promoting the use of solar power. India has set up an ambitious target of setting up of 1 lakh MW solar power plants in the country by 2022.
He also said that in view of the progress made so far, nation will meet the target ahead of the schedule. The Power Minister said that solar energy is important for India’s energy security and the Government is working in a fast track mode in this direction.
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