Solar Power

As per the scheme approved today by the Delhi Cabinet, maximum of one-third surface area of the agriculture land can be used for installation of solar panels in such a way that agriculture activity is not affected

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today announced the ‘Mukhyanmantri Kisan Aaye Badhotri Solar Yojna’ which aims to increase the income of farmers by three to five times in the national capital.

As per the scheme approved today by the Delhi Cabinet, maximum of one-third surface area of the agriculture land can be used for installation of solar panels in such a way that agriculture activity is not affected.

Talking to reporters here after the Cabinet meeting, Kejriwal said the present estimated annual income of farmers is Rs 20,000 to 30,000 per acre per year.

“With the introduction of this scheme, farmers’ income will be increased by three to five times per acre,” the chief minister said.

He also said the minimum height for installing solar panels will be 3.5 metres to ensure that agriculture activity is not affected.

“Farmers will not have to invest anything in this scheme. Around five companies have so far shown interest in it,” Kejriwal said.

The chief minister also said the Delhi government’s departments will also buy electricity from companies which have installed solar panels on the agriculture land.

At present, departments buy electricity for Rs 9 per unit, but with this scheme, departments will buy electricity for Rs 4 per unit due to which government will save Rs 400 to 500 crore annually.

The second edition of RE-Invest, Indian government’s flagship renewable energy event, will be held from October 3 to 5 this year, after having gone through several rounds of rescheduling in the past couple of years. The event will be held alongside the first general assembly meet of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), a treaty-based inter-government organisation headquartered in India.

This year’s RE-invest assumes particular importance as the India has scaled up its renewable energy capacity addition target from 175 GW to 227 GW over the next four years, industry experts say.

“So far, only the dates of the event have been finalised. A decision on the partner country, states is yet to be taken,” said a senior official aware of developments.

RE-Invest, organised by the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) was initially envisaged to be held annually, but the plan did not materialise after the inaugural event was held in February 2015. It was scheduled for February 2016 next, which was eventually postponed to November 2016, then February 2017. This was again rescheduled to December 2017 and then to April this year.

This year’s Re-Invest is expected to see over 5,000 domestic and international delegates from over a hundred countries in attendance, according to the official event website. With the ISA general assembly meet in the first week of October, the chances of RE-Invest being postponed yet again, remain slim.

“MNRE has been focusing on manufacturing-led solar tenders, which will be a potential driver for investment in the country. Apart from a few policy gaps, India is well-positioned to attract investment in the renewable energy space, as leading markets like China have slowed down considerably,” said Vinay Rustagi, managing director at Bridge to India.

Meanwhile, ISA’s first general assembly meet is expected to see ministerial level participation from its 121 member countries, said the official quoted above.

“Apart from deliberations on the execution of rules and regulations of the alliance, a decision on whether the ISA membership could be made open to countries beyond the tropics will also be taken,” a senior ISA official said.

As of now, the ISA membership is limited to 121 countries between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. The organisation has received representations from countries including Germany, Korea, Tunisia, Italy for becoming full-fledged members.

With an aim to generate more than 2,000 MW of solar energy in the national capital by 2025, the Delhi government is laying out a comprehensive roadmap to encourage adoption of rooftop solar projects by the residential sector.

In order to achieve this goal and understand the opportunities and challenges in aggregating the consumer demand, the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Management Centre (EE&REM), Delhi’s Department of Power, on Monday organised a consultation workshop ‘Rooftop Solar Demand Aggregation Program for Domestic Consumers’.

The workshop, supported by the SUPRABHA (Sustainable Partnerships for Rooftop Solar Acceleration in Bharat), a World Bank-SBI Rooftop Solar Technical Assistance (TA) Programme discussed the opportunities and challenges faced by Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) developers in setting up solar rooftop projects in the cityA

In his address, Power Minister Satyendar Jain said: “It is the endeavour of the Delhi Government to promote the use of renewable energy by all sectors.

“The residential sector is a key component in an urban setup like Delhi and we are exploring ways and means to make it easy for this sector to adopt rooftop solar. The RESCO model enables this by minimising capital expenditure for homeowners and RWAs. The Delhi Government’s aim is to generate 1000 MW by 2020 and 2000 MW by 2025 through Rooftop Solar Installations.”