Solar power plant at Chhatrapur soon

The Odisha government will set up a one-megawatt solar power plant near Chhatrapur, the district headquarters town of Ganjam. The plant will come up around 5.5 acres of land with an investment of Rs 13-crore. The plant is part of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded Rs 1,000-crore plan to build 'disaster resilient power strengthening system' in the cyclone-prone towns of Berhampur, Chhatrapur and Gopapur in Ganjam district on an experimental basis.

The plan to lay underground cable and set up a solar power plant was mooted by the government following the heavy damage to the power infrastructure in the district due to cyclone Pahilin in October 12, last year. The entire district had plunge into darkness for several days after the cyclone. "We have identified the land for establishment of the power plant. The district administration would soon hand over the land to the state-owned Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL), the implementing agency of the proposed plant", said Lenka Prasad, the nodal officer for the project.

The tender for the project is likely to be floated by the OPTCL soon inviting bids from interested parties to set up the solar plant, he stated.