Panaji : Pushing towards its ambition of 100% green energy usage by 2050, the state government is planning for a whopping 1,550 MW of renewable energy in the next five years, according to the state government’s submission to the 16th Finance Commission.
To achieve the green energy capacity, Rs 7,350 crore has been sought from the Finance Commission.
Of the envisaged future capacity, 1,400 MW will be from solar power generation, while 150 MW will be from wind and other renewable energy sources such as biogas, small hydro and waste-to-energy projects, the outlined plans indicated.
In addition, another 1,000 MW per hour of renewable energy is proposed through the installation of energy storage capacity.
The state’s solar power generation capacity presently is in the range of 65 MW. The government aims to increase the solar energy capacity considerably through rooftop installations on government buildings, floating projects on waterbodies, canal solar projects, and ground-mounted solar parks under the central Kusum scheme.
Of the fund requirement, Rs 400 crore will be needed for solar rooftop installations, while the bulk of funding Rs 5,200 crore is envisaged for large solar projects.
The setting up of the energy storage capacity will cost Rs 1,500 crore, disclosed the government.
“Though there are other modes that can be explored such as Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO), a funding mode where a third-party company (the RESCO), installs, operates and maintains a solar energy system on a client’s property, the government has said that it will need funds to finance the capital expenditure of the targeted capacity addition.
Overall the entire power sector will require a total financial assistance of Rs 11,510 crore, as Rs 4,160 crore will go towards strengthening the electricity transmission and distribution system, improving the billing and collection efficiency, and complete ongoing work on the underground cabling network, the government said.
The electricity department so far has completed only 30 per cent of the underground cabling works, with 3,731.6 Ckms underground network achieved out of 11,910.9 Ckms overhead network, it said.
