Maharashtra plans 4 more solar plants of 200 MW by 2015

[ejazr]

Business Line : Industry & Economy / Economy : Maharashtra plans 4 more solar plants of 200 MW by 2015

Mumbai, May 7:

The Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (Mahagenco) is planning to set up four more solar power plants in the State with a total capacity of about 200 MW by 2015.

The company is currently executing a 150 MW solar power project at Sakri town in Dhule district. Work on this project began last May.

The proposed solar plants will come up in districts of Beed, Sangli, Parbhani and Osmanabad, which have good solar radiation and almost 300 days of sunshine.

The local district administration has been ordered to find suitable land parcels for setting up the projects.
Land identification

A senior Maharashtra Government official said as land acquisition has become a major challenge in Maharashtra, therefore non-cultivable lands are being surveyed for acquisition. Preference would be given to 100 hectare plots, which are fully owned by the government.

All the power produced by the plants would be bought by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (Mahadiscom) without any preconditions. This will also ensure that Mahadiscom meets the mandatory requirement of sourcing power from renewable sources, the official said.
Rising demand

The rising demand for power and delays in setting up conventional thermal coal plants is pushing the government to look for non-conventional energy resources for power generation.

Mahagenco will examine the feasibility of using either thin film or crystalline based photovoltaic technology for the plants.

The Executive Director at KPMG, Mr Arvind Mahajan, said that there is a good potential to produce solar power in Maharashtra, as many areas have solar radiation, comparable to those in Rajasthan, "But what is required is good State level solar policy, which can encourage private sector to put up solar power plants in Maharashtra. Gujarat and Rajasthan already have policy in place, which is attracting investments," he said.

Last year Sakri project had hit a major hurdle as the State Forest Department had claimed ownership of the project site. However, the State Government settled the issue and construction work has already begun, the official added.

 

[SLASH]

They should have solar panels over all the canals. This not only save water due to evaporation but will also solve problems of land acquisition. Imagine the amount of power it will generate.

This is from Gujarat. Over Narmada Canal.

 

[nrj]

Marathwada has no water to cover it with Solar Panels.

Mentioned district places get water from municipal taps once in a month.

 

[drkrn]

is it better to have solar power plants in deserts ?? may be you can get 365 days sunlight as you may not have rainfall..

what are the problems with having solar panels on canals. why are states not using it for power generation

 

[SLASH]

Marathwada has no water to cover it with Solar Panels.

Mentioned district places get water from municipal taps once in a month.

It can be put over any canal. It doesn't have to specific to Marathwada. The cost of mounting it over a canal would slightly higher than having it over land, but the government will save on land acquisition. Plus the villages around the canals will have clean energy. There will be lesser loss in transmission as well and it look wicked cool.

Modi plans to get at least 10% of the 6800 km of the canal covered with solar panels.

 

[SLASH]

is it better to have solar power plants in deserts ?? may be you can get 365 days sunlight as you may not have rainfall..

what are the problems with having solar panels on canals. why are states not using it for power generation

It would be better in desert. But i'm not sure whether it would be possible on sand dunes. sand keeps on shifting with strong wind.

Solar panel over canals in Gujarat is first of its kind in the country.

 

[nrj]

It can be put over any canal. It doesn't have to specific to Marathwada. The cost of mounting it over a canal would slightly higher than having it over land, but the government will save on land acquisition. Plus the villages around the canals will have clean energy. There will be lesser loss in transmission as well and it look wicked cool.

Modi plans to get at least 10% of the 6800 km of the canal covered with solar panels.

This topic is about Solar electricity in Marathwada.

 

[sob]

if there is no water in Marathwada then how do they plan to clean the solar films regularly.

OTOH Gujarat has a policy that they guarantee to buy electricity @ Rs. 12/unit for 12 years. what is the policy in Maharashtra. why would somebody invest there?

 

[nrj]

Water tankers will be pressed in to clean solar films or shine the sign-boards. That is what happens in places where there is no water.

Project is undertaken by Mahagenco which is child company of largest electricity generator, distributor, transmitter in state i.e MSEB so their internal purchase orders are not really consumer-relevant.

There is truckload of investment in MH Power sector but we are talking about Marathwada here which is a neglected area & concept of covering canals with solar panels is good only on paper because either there are half-completed dams with no canals or canals with no dams. Waiting till those canals projects complete will delay the power supply for decades. Had this been another part of MH then those concepts are workable and state should really take lesson from Gujarat. But thats not case with Marathwada. When water dries up from largest dam in summer then people suffer 8hr power cut in city place. Dont even ask me about villages. Rains are never adequate. Irrigation requirements are met by borewells or electricity pumps. Canals are empty investment in here. Investment in power sector mostly comes from state which is backed by overseas banks. Private sector prefers conventional power projects as land acquisition in other projects is a world known challenge, take wind-power for example.

Solar Parks are workable if you have canal infrastructure in place justifying the need to save water & advantage of already acquired land. Thats not the case here. Country's largest consolidated solar power plant is coming up in Dhule. Even in Marathwada you can build only consolidated plants. Next better option encouraged these days in here is Wind Power since M'wada has got few key sports for wind power generation.

 

[SLASH]

This topic is about Solar electricity in Marathwada.

So...

If they have problem in land acquisition than they should go somewhere else. A

 

[nrj]

So...

If they have problem in land acquisition than they should go somewhere else. A

Refer previous post.

Added Later: btw what do you mean by go somewhere else? That leads to increased transmission losses & distribution hassles.

 

[Godless-Kafir]

What is the point with this solar energy plant? During day you get power but what do you do at night? Also wonder what is the life span of the plant, solar panels wont last more than 5 or 10 years!

 

[SLASH]

Refer previous post.

Added Later: btw what do you mean by go somewhere else? That leads to increased transmission losses & distribution hassles.

I mean if they have problems in land acquisitions they should look some place else for setting up the solar plant. You can have a thermal or nuclear plant for this region. The land that is saved can be used to set-up industries in that area. N/A land is becoming scarce in India. We must save as much as we can for future development.

 

[nrj]

I mean if they have problems in land acquisitions they should look some place else for setting up the solar plant. You can have a thermal or nuclear plant for this region. The land that is saved can be used to set-up industries in that area. N/A land is becoming scarce in India. We must save as much as we can for future development.

Land acquisition problems are everywhere in India.

Nuclear power plants are good, however we just witnessed Kundakulam drama. They have turned it into a complex political problem where you soon will have opposition rocking plans for liability obligations. Americans are interested in setting up nuke plants but recent drama has pushed them back a little as nobody wants a dead investment. Maybe if Jaitapur sees the light of the day, I will be hopeful for nuclear plant in central MH. But its a big IF and I wouldn't bet anything on it.

Regarding thermal plant, we are already short of coal. Wait for rains, then output volumes of mines in eastern shore drop magnificently. And whatever is left is consumed by Koradi area plants. Also the logistics costs become significantly high looking at specific demand.

Hydro power contributes majorly to demands in central MH but summers become harsh when water dries up like I already mentioned.

And I was not explaining problems of land acquisitions in my earlier posts. I was highlighting irrelevance of canal solution for solar plants mentioned by you as far as region under discussion is concerned.