The plan to construct a 2.5 MW solar plant in Faridabad was chalked out last December when certain surcharges had been done away with under the new solar policy. DMRC and some villages in Faridabad would have been supplied power from the plant.
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation’s (SDMC) Faridabad solar power plant project has hit a roadblock as the Haryana government has imposed extra charges that were not part of the initial agreement, officials said.
The plan to construct a 2.5 MW solar plant in Faridabad was chalked out last December when certain surcharges had been done away with under the new solar policy. DMRC and some villages in Faridabad would have been supplied power from the plant.
“We made this plan when the solar policy of the Haryana government allowed a few subsidies but the charges have increased now. We sent a letter to the Haryana government two months ago about the estimate and haven’t heard back yet, but the project seems unviable,” said SDMC chief engineer (electrical) R K Sharma. The plant was to be spread over nine acres and requires funding of around Rs 15 crore.
Last year, the SDMC and the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) entered into an agreement to develop a 27.5 MW grid-connected solar power project. The 105-acre Ghumanhera project in Najafgarh, worth over Rs 100 crore, will have a capacity of 25 MW, and the Faridabad plant of 2.5 MW.
T K Sharma, Chief Engineer of Haryana Power Purchase Centre, said,“New surcharges were added to Haryana’s solar policy in March. Solar power works only in the daytime and it takes 24 hours to start a thermal plant. We cannot have too much solar power as it cannot work at night, and thermal power plants shut down if it goes under 50% production capability. This was a limitation. But we are encouraging solar power in the state.”
The Delhi government did not comment on the matter.
Source: indianexpress
