Solar Strides, Wind Wins: Gujarat Aims For 37 GW Green Power

He said it has been decided to complete an investment of Rs 5 lakh crore in this sector over the next five years.

According to him, the total installed power capacity of Gujarat is 51,869 MW, but the state government has emphasised solar and wind energy and Gujarat Power Corporation Limited has been appointed as the nodal agency for this initiative. The state government has allotted 74,700 hectares of land in Khawda of Kutch district to six developer companies.

A top official of the Energy Department said 700 MW of solar power has been approved in Vav taluka and 1,000 MW in Dholera on 9,800 hectares of land. The work of the solar project on 1,392 hectares in Radhanesda of Vav taluka is nearing completion.

In the budget release, regarding the work of the Energy and Petrochemicals Department, the Energy Minister had said that the world's largest renewable solar park with a capacity of 37.35 GW will be developed in Khawda, keeping in mind the success of Charanka Solar Park.

The state government had announced a renewable energy policy in October 2023 and had set an investment target of Rs 5 lakh crore in it, but the possibility of meeting this target in five years seems low, as industries may delay starting their projects due to global recession and other economic factors.

This policy is based on wind, ground mounted solar, rooftop, floating solar, canal top, and hybrid technologies. The period of this policy has been kept till 2028, based on which four lakh hectares of land will be used in the renewable energy sector by 2030.

Key Provisions Of The Policy:

• There is no restriction on the capacity for setting up renewable energy (RE) projects with respect to the contractual demand of the consumer.
• RE power settlement against the consumption of the consumer will be done on the basis of the billing cycle.
• Green Power Supply: 100 per cent RE energy supply on the request of the consumer at the green power supply tariff fixed by the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) from time to time.
• Net metering or gross metering option will be made available for rooftop projects.
• Offshore wind projects will be encouraged.
• The policy will facilitate wind turbine generator (WTG) manufacturers and RE developers to install prototype WTGs.
• Existing installed wind power plants or under-construction solar power plants will be facilitated to be converted into hybrid projects.
• No banking charges will be applicable on solar energy used by residential customers, while banking charges as prescribed by GERC will be applicable for other customers.
• RE parks that this policy encourages include solar parks, wind parks and hybrid parks.
• Floating solar projects can be developed on canals, rivers.
• ​DISCOMs will enter into agreements to procure power from RE projects selected through a competitive bidding process

Energy Minister Kanubhai Desai said that under the policy, capacity constraints of projects in terms of contract demand have been removed.

In addition, permission has been given to set up renewable energy projects for export to commercialise outside Gujarat. For solar projects up to four megawatts and wind projects of less than ten megawatts, the state's power distribution companies will have to enter into power contracts at pre-determined rates, apart from competitive bidding.

These initiatives reflect Gujarat's strong commitment to expanding its renewable energy capacity, though challenges such as economic factors and global market conditions may influence the pace of implementation.