Telangana is on course to achieving 5 Giga Watts (GW) of renewable energy capacity by next year, and the state plans to come out with a tender for setting up of about 1000 MW (1 GW) of solar power generation capacity.

The state, which was carved out of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, now has a total installed capacity of about 3,800 MW, which includes grid-connected and standalone rooftop solar units, and it has the second highest solar capacity in the country, after Karnataka.

Ajay Mishra, Special Chief Secretary, Energy, Telangana, during the week-end said the state government is in the process of finalising a tender for about 1,000 MW, and expects to reach the targeted 5 GW capacity by next year. This will include some rooftop solar units and some standalone installations.

Addressing gaps

The state has adopted decentralised distributed solar installation projects, as opposed to the solar park model. In the park model, huge capacity comes up at a single location, making its management relatively tougher and needing additional evacuation infrastructure.

Barring one project, where more than 100 MW of solar capacity is located, most of the projects have been awarded and installed on a de-centralised distributed model. The state had encouraged projects across over 180 locations, instead of concentration of projects at one location as in solar parks.

Also read:Telangana solar model helps save over ₹500 cr

This was based on demand-supply gaps in various parts of the state, aimed at supporting the agricultural loads.

About 250 to 300 MW will come up in the state-owned coal mining company The Singareni Collieries Company Limited, in addition to the state government proposals.

“By opting for a distributed solar installation model, the state had managed to save about ₹450 crore, which would have otherwise required to strengthen the transmission and distribution network,” Mishra said.

While some of the wind developers have come forward to set up windpower generation units with highly efficient turbines in the state known for low wind speeds, the state has not pushed forward with their proposals.

Policy tweak

The state is also planning to tweak its solar power policy as it is keen that the new projects that are tendered out, come up at attractive prices, factoring the drop in cost of solar modules and related equipment.

Also read:Telangana govt to come up with new solar policy

While the tenders and policy would have come up much earlier, it has been held up due to elections. It may be announced anytime in the near future.

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