Madhya Pradesh has set an ambitious target of generating an additional 20,000 Megawatt (MW) of green power by 2030 through renewable energy sources, including setting up of a solar plant in the Chambal region once notorious for dacoits, and supplying it to other states. The state currently produces 5,500 MW of green energy through various renewable power sources and a major part of it is sourced through solar power.
“We have set a target to produce an additional 20,000 MW of green power by 2030 through renewable energy sources in the state for supplying it to other states,” Madhya Pradesh energy and renewable energy department’s principal secretary, Sanjay Dubey, told PTI.
“Besides, in the next three-four years, the government has set a target to generate 10,000 MW of green power by establishing the 1,500 MW capacity Agar-Shajapur-Neemuch solar park, 600 MW Omkareshwar floating solar power plant, which is among the world’s biggest such facility, 750 MW hybrid project, 950 MW hybrid storage Chattarpur project, 500 MW Kusum-A and 1,250 MW Kusum-C projects will be implemented among others,” he said.
Megawatts are used to measure the output of a power plant or the amount of electricity required by an entire city.
Dubey said under a hybrid facility, both solar panels and windmills are established to generate green energy by taking advantage of Sun rays as well as wind velocity by taking the advantage of both mediums.
Similarly, under the Kusum Scheme, small renewable energy plants are being set up by farmers and others for generating 2-3 MW of green power, the senior official said.
“This will turn them (farmers) from producers of traditional food grains into developers of clean energy which will also supplement their income” he said.
State government is also setting up a 1,400 MW solar energy power plant in the Chambal region in the Morena district.
This region was earlier ill-famous for bandits, but now the Chambal expressway and the solar power plants are coming up in this area as part of the government’s development plans.
Dubey said the government is also planning to establish a solar power plant in the vast Chambal ravines which will be implemented in the next few years.
Referring to the Omkareshwar Floating Solar Project, he said that it was Madhya Pradesh’s first, India’s largest and one of the biggest floating solar power plants in the world.
Under the first phase, 278 MW of power will be generated for which a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was inked recently.
The floating solar project is being implemented under the ‘Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Power Parks Scheme (UMREPP).
Entire 600 MW of power generated from the Omkareshwar Floating Solar Project will be procured by the state DISCOMs (distribution companies) through the Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company (MPPMCL), an official associated with the project said.
The first phase of the 278 MW capacity of this project is proposed to be completed by September 2023.
Omkareshwar project would be one of the multipurpose projects in India wherein apart from the existing utilities such as irrigation and hydropower generation, solar energy will also be generated along with the promotion of tourism, the official said.
In addition, the project will bring many benefits to the people of Madhya Pradesh such as a reduction of about 12 lakh tons of carbon emission in meeting the energy demand, saving of about 1,200 hectares of precious land that may find utility in agriculture or other industry for boosting the state economy.
No need for land has effectively eliminated the requirement of displacing the people from their natural habitat, which is quite pleasant from the social point of view, the official added.
“In ground-mounted solar projects, underground water is used to clean the solar panel. However, in the floating solar project, water from the reservoir will be used for cleaning purposes which would flow back into the reservoir, leading to virtually no loss of water besides saving the valuable groundwater,” the official explained.
In addition to saving groundwater, it will be possible to save the reservoir water from evaporation from the floating solar project.
“Due to low evaporation, there will be an annual saving of about 32.4 million cubic meters of water. This amount of water saving is almost enough to meet the daily demand of water for a city like Indore for up to 112 days,” the official added.
