Norway’s Ambassador to India Nils Ragnar Kamsvåghad, in a meeting with Manu Srivastava, Principal Secretary, New and Renewable Energy Department of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday, sought to have a better understanding of the advancements by the State in renewable energy sector in MP.
Srivastava welcomed the Ambassador and shared the progress of renewable energy in the State. India has made ambitious commitments under Paris Agreement and envisioned installation of 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022.
The Government of MP has been working to achieve the goal through development of solar parks, with Rewa Solar Park being one of the largest in the world. Further, procurement of solar pumps for irrigation and drinking water by MPUVN is the largest procurement in the world. Development of distributed RE generation in remote locations and Aganwadi centerse integrates energy as well as gender equity for welfare of children and women. Besides, MP has seven Smart Cities out of 100 under Government of India’s Smart Cities programme, showing significant potential for the development of smart energy planning and decentralized grid in these seven cities.
Kamsvag expressed excitement regarding development of renewable energy in MP. The Ambassador pointed out the risks associated with renewable energy projects in India, such as poor financial health of discoms and issues of cancellation of Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) by discoms. The steps taken in the State to mitigate such risks and secure economic interests of investors were explained to the Ambassador.
The Principal Secretary, Manu Srivastava, informed him about the three-tier Payment Security Mechanism (PSM), which is a unique feature of the Rewa Solar Project, for securing payments to developer from the state Discoms.
The meeting showed growing interest of international investors in renewable energy sector of the State and the commitments of the Government of MP in creating investor friendly business environment and contributing towards fulfilling Prime Minister’s mission of 100 GW solar by the year 2022.
Source: dailypioneer
