India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and France President Emmanuel Macron inaugurated a solar power plant in Mirzapur district’s Chhanvey block in Uttar Pradesh by pressing a button to energise the solar panels and dedicate the 75 MW facility.
The cost of the largest solar power plan in Uttar Pradesh is around Rs 500 crore. French firm ENGIE built the solar plant. The 75 MW solar plant has come up at Dadar Kalan village on the hilly terrain of the Vindhyas range. Some 118,600 solar panels have been set up in over 380 acres.
Power would be transmitted to Jigna sub-station of Mirzapur range of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation.
The plant will generate 15.6 crore units of electricity annually, about 1.30 crore units per month.
Addressing the founding conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in New Delhi yesterday, Modi had called for concessional financing and less-risky funds for solar projects to raise the share of solar power in the energy basket, provide cheaper electricity and cut carbon emissions.
Modi said India will generate 175 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2022. This will be more than double the present renewable energy capacity and be enough to overtake renewable expansion in the European Union for the first time.
India needs some $83 billion between FY2018 and FY2022 to meet its 175 GW target, according to industry estimates.
At present, the country’s renewable energy installed capacity is 63 GW. Solar and wind power tariffs have dropped to an all-time low of Rs 2.44 per unit and Rs 3.46 per unit, among the lowest in the world.
Image caption: The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and the President of the French Republic, Mr. Emmanuel Macron at the inauguration of the Solar Power Plant, at Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh on March 12, 2018.