CHANDIGARH: Having herald Green Revolution in the past, farmers in Punjab are now keen on Green energy by setting up solar projects in their farms. Solar power proposals to set up projects of capacity 629 MW by farmers have poured in against the target of 500 MW set by Punjab Energy Development Agency under the Farmers' Solar Scheme.
"As such projects doesn't include the cost of land the entire cost could be covered in 7-8 years," says Ravinder Bansal a farmer from Muktsar who is keen to install solar project of capacity 2 MW on part of his family owned ancestral land. Under the scheme the PEDA facilitates Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Punjab State Power Corporation Limited. The PPA is effective for a period of 25 years from the date of commissioning of the project.
But Bansal is unsure whether his project will get nod from the agency. As after Prime Minister Narendra Modi ramped up Solar target in June last year to 100 GW by 2022, more and more farmers have evinced interest in the scheme. The scheme was launched by Punjab government in the beginning of the current financial year.
"A large number of proposals will not get approved as the target under the current scheme is 500 MW," chief executive, Punjab Energy Development Agency Amarpal Singh told ET. Singh said that the scheme is part of the strategy to promote small grid based solar projects.
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