Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd (APDCL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NLC India Limited for producing 1000 MW solar power in Assam. The MOU was signed in the presence of the Chief Minister, Mr. Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union Minister of Coal and Mines, Mr. Pralhad Joshi, in Guwahati.
The project will be a joint venture between APDCL and NLCIL in 49:51 ratios and will help meet the growing demand for power in the state.
“We are already ready to start the work with the signing of the MoU. The total project cost will be around Rs. 5,500 crore depending on the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) bids”, said Rakesh Kumar, NLC India chairman, and Managing Director.
Mr. Kumar also stated that the project will start generating energy in one and a half years and will be developed in 2-3 pockets of Assam. Moreover, it will employ 2000 people during the construction phase and will create an additional 1000 jobs in the operational stage.
“The land is already available and tender documents are ready. The project will generate 1,500 million units and our target is to produce 35,000 million units in 25 years,” he adds.
Apart from this project, the state government is gearing up to produce an additional 1000 MW of solar energy that will require an investment of Rs. 4000 crores.
“This is a central government initiative and we have got in-principle approval of the ADB loan for this. This will be implemented fully by APDCL. So, Assam will see a total of around Rs 10,000 crore investment to produce 2,000 MW of renewable energy,” the Chief Minister of State explained.
He also noted that due to the rising economic activities in the state, the peak hour demand has increased from 800-900 MW to 2,400 MW.
“We need 1,000-1,500 MW of solid power because of rising economic activities. We have requested NLCI to set up a thermal power plant of 1,000 MW catering to the demands of only Assam,” Sarma said.
However, Assam is now focusing on reducing the state’s dependence on fossil fuels and contributing to Prime Minister Modi’s agenda of fighting climate change by increasing renewable energy capacity. Recently, the state commissioned two major solar power plants in the Udalguri and Kamrup districts- each with 25 MW capacity.
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Resource: Business Today
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