With six years left for India to achieve its goal of generating 100 GW of electricity from solar projects, 25 states have fallen short of adding capacity by some 2,000 MW so far in 2016-17.
The biggest laggards are Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Odisha, J&K and West Bengal, each of them missing the mark by more than 100 MW. In terms of renewable power purchase obligations during 2015-16, only Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Meghalaya, Karnataka, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh exceeded their targets, according to the government.
Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Punjab managed to meet about 60% of their obligation. The remainder achieved up to 59% of their targets, with Manipur and Goa not meeting any.
“Considering the actual renewable purchase obligation level specified by the state electricity regulatory commissions for the year 2016-17, it is estimated that 25 states/UTs require over 2,030 MW solar power capacity to fulfil the solar purchase obligation,” the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy said in a recent document.
Similarly, it is estimated that 22 states and UTs require over 9,080 MW of non-solar power capacity to fulfil their obligations to purchase energy from other renewable sources.
Source:ET
