The Odisha government has unveiled the Odisha Renewable Energy Policy 2022 to incentivise and boost clean energy development in the state. The policy targets 10GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, with a special focus on floating solar and wind energy development, along with green hydrogen and green ammonia.
The state government announced the policy during the recent Make in Odisha conclave held in Bhubaneswar, where several businesses discussed investment opportunities in the state.
As per the policy document, a new nodal agency will act as a single window for all approvals and allotment of RE projects. It also mentions a financial incentive of ₹50 paise per unit electricity duty exemption for renewable energy consumers.
The policy highlights the bias in national renewable energy policies, as most of them only benefit RE-rich states like Gujarat. Rajasthan and Karnataka. Through this policy. Odisha is aiming to harness its clean energy potential by making the best use of the available resources.
To boost Odisha’s solar capacity, the policy focuses on these major areas:
- Floating Solar Projects
1. Recognizing its vast solar potential, but lack of availability of suitable land, the Odisha government is planning to set up floating solar and canal-top solar projects over the available water bodies and reservoirs.
2. As per Pre-feasibility Reports, the state has a floating solar potential of 5000MW
3. The Department of Water Resources will allow the installation of floating solar plants over the water bodies on payment of nominal annual lease/rent or an upfront payment.
4. Industries will also be allowed to set up floating solar projects to meet their energy needs.
- Solar Parks
1. Under the new policy, the state will also promote the development of utility-scale solar parks, with a minimum capacity of 25MW.
2. The solar park developers are allowed to sell the power generated within or outside the state or use it for captive consumption.
3. Grid Corporation of Odisha (GRIDCO) may decide to purchase the power generated by the projects in the solar park through a tariff-based bidding mechanism.
- Solar Cities and Use of Vacant Land
1. The state will also promote the establishment of solar cities or industrial estates through financial incentives.
2. All the vacant land under various government departments and agencies will be made available for setting up solar projects.
3. The state will also promote the deployment of solar cookers, solar water heaters, solar desalination, solar food dryer, etc. at the local level.
At the Conclave, it was announced that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with three companies that are investing a total of ₹51,000 crores into different clean energy projects in the state.
Out of these, one is NTPC green energy which is investing in multiple floating solar projects across Odisha. Further, Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVN) is also planning to invest in ground-mounted and floating solar projects of 2000MW capacity.
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Resource: The Economic Times
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