Odisha has received a go-ahead from the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) for setting up an 18 MW solar rooftop project. A leader in rooftop solar projects in the country, Odisha is set to upgrade its overall capacity by covering key cities and towns.
The state has already set up 4 MW rooftop projects in the cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. These projects were carried out by Azure Power Mercury Pvt Ltd.
The towns covered under the latest plan will be Sambalpur, Burla, Hirakud, Rourkela, Puri, Khurda, Berhampur, Chhattrapur, Jeypore, Koraput, Sunabeda, Balasore, Bhadrak and Baripada. The remaining buildings of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are also to be covered.
“The Ministry has given its approval for replication of the rooftop project in Odisha of 18 Mw capacity similar to the twin city rooftop project. About 600 government buildings covering 17 cities and towns will be used for generating solar energy in PPP (public-private partnership) mode,” said an official.
The cost of development for 1 MW of rooftop solar project is roughly estimated at Rs 7 crore. The developer would be selected by a tender put out by state-run Green Energy Development Company Ltd (Gedcol) after the model code of conduct for the elections are removed. Developers will also get a 30% subsidy from the ministry.
As per its Renewable Energy Policy-2016, the Odisha government plans to set up 2200 MW of solar energy capacity by 2022.