In a push to develop solar energy in the country, the government has announced that it would bear up to 80% of the cost of generating power. The cost of generating one unit of solar power is Rs 15. The central government, in partnership with state governments, will give incentives of up to Rs 12 per unit of the cost of generating the power. The ministry of new and renewable energy, has drawn up a raodmap of generating 50 MW of solar power in the current Five-Year Plan that ends in 2012. "Some states such as Punjab and West Bengal have already shown interest. Each state can easily generate up to 10 MW of solar power. Together with the state governments, we want to incentivise this clean energy source," said minister of new and renewable energy Vilas Muttemwar. The incentive for generating the planned 50 MW of solar power would result in government spending of close to Rs 90 crore. The incentive is being given "in view of the present high initial capital cost of setting up solar power plants and the cost of electricity from such plants," the minister said. The cost of setting up a solar power generating unit is around Rs 20 crore per MW. For setting up a thermal power plant, the cost is around Rs 4 per MW, while for hydropower it is around Rs 6 per MW. "The gestation period of a solar power unit is much shorter than that for a thermal or hydropower plant," Muttemwar said. The government is focussing on setting up solar power generating unit in west and central India, "which receives the maximum sunlight," Muttemwar said. He added that the main states would be Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. "The 50 MW generation could come up as early as in the next year and a half," he said. The power generated from the solar unit would be fed into the grid. "The incentives will be given only for the electricity that is fed into the grid and not for that which companies use for captive purposes," Muttemwar said. |