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Status of Solar Power Projects

According to the figures revealed by the Minister for New and Renewable energy, only a fourth of the total sanctioned solar projects under the ‘Scheme for Development of Solar Parks.

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Status of Solar Power Projects News

Current progress of projects: Under the scheme, a total of 57 solar parks of aggregate capacity of nearly 39 GW were sanctioned until November-end. However, only solar power projects of 10 GW have been commissioned in these parks.
Overall progress of solar power: India had committed to installing 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022 of which 100 GW was to be solar power. As of October 2022, 61 GW of solar power has been installed so far.
Reasons for the shortfall:
- Hurdles in acquisition of land with clear title.
- A “mismatch” in the time taken to set up a project and the infrastructure to route the power produced to the grid.
- Environmental issues and the halt in economic activity due to COVID-19.

Case Study: The “Great Indian Bustard (GIB)” issue in Rajasthan

In recent years, the habitat of the GIB — a critically endangered species numbering less than 200 in Rajasthan — has been encroached upon by solar power projects particularly by transmission lines that endanger the bird.
In April 2021, the Supreme Court had directed that power companies lay underground cables in solar parks in Rajasthan.
The minister had told the Supreme Court that laying underground cables were impractical and would greatly raise the cost of solar power.

Scheme for Development of Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects:

Launch: The scheme was rolled out in December 2014 by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
Objective: To facilitate the solar project developers to set up projects in a plug and play model.
Time period: Up to 2022-23.
Salient features of the scheme:
- Under this scheme, it was proposed to set up at least 25 Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects targeting over 20 GW of solar power installed capacity within a span of 5 years starting from 2014-15.
- In 2017, the capacity of the Scheme has been enhanced from 20 GW to 40 GW. These parks are proposed to be set up by 2021-22.
- The scheme facilitates and speeds up installation of grid connected solar power projects for electricity generation on a large scale.
- All the States and Union Territories are eligible for getting benefit under the scheme.
- The capacity of the solar parks shall be 500 MW and above. However, smaller parks are also considered where contiguous land may be difficult to acquire in view of difficult terrain and where there is acute shortage of non-agricultural land.

Important Government Initiatives for Solar Power Development

Grid Connected

Development of Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects
Grid Connected Solar Rooftop Programme
Scheme for setting up of over 5 GW Grid-connected solar power projects under JNNSM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission) PHASE-II
Scheme for Setting up of Distributed Grid-Connected Solar Power Projects in Andaman &Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands with Capital Subsidy from MNRE

Solar Off-grid