PUNJAB TO GENERATE 4,200 MW SOLAR                                     POWER BY 2022: 

                   BIKRAM SINGH MAJITHIA

New and renewable energy minister Bikram Singh Majithia on Tuesday said the Punjab government has set a target of generating more than 4,200 MW solar power in the state by 2022.

He said this on the sidelines of inaugurating a 4.2 megawatt (MW) solar power plant — the country’s first satellite-controlled single axis tracking east west tilt technology-based solar power plant — at Lalpur village in the district. It has been constructed by a Mumbai-based firm at Rs 35 crore.

The single axis tracking east west tilt technology follows the path of the sun during the day to generate 8 per cent more units of electricity as compared to solar power plants having traditional fixed-type structures.

Thanking Aditya Medisales, the firm engaged for completing the project, which is part of the Sun Pharma group, Majithia invited the company to invest more in the field of renewable energy production in the state, claiming that Punjab provided the best environment for investment in the renewable energy sector.

Majithia informed that more than 1500 applications had been received for solar roof top projects. “We are going to further promote the concept  of generation of clean and green energy,” he calimed.

Various companies had already invested more than Rs 1,300 crore in solar power projects while an investment of around Rs 1,700 crore was in the pipeline, he added.

Majithia informed that India’s largest rooftop plant of 7.50 MW at Radha Soami Satsang at Beas in Amritsar would be expanded to 31.5 MW making it world’s largest rooftop plant. 

Due to such initiatives, the Punjab government had been awarded by the Union ministry of new and renewable energy for being one of the best performing States as far as capacity addition was concerned, he added. He said PEDA had also been declared one of the best performing state nodal agencies under the energy conservation programme during 2012 and 2013 by the Union Ministry of Power.

Aditya Medisales executive director Vidya Sagar Tulluri, thanked the government for speedy clearance of the project. He said the company planned to invest more in the state in the coming times.