Govt to introduce hybrid energy policy
GANDHINAGAR: Aiming to reduce the dependence on coal and gas for power generation, the Gujarat government will begun working on a new hybrid energy policy under which it will provide greater focus on solar and wind-based power, and promote wind and power based units that share the same land and transmission grid.
A key source close to the development said, “According to the Union government’s target, Gujarat is supposed to increase its renewable energy(RE) power generation capacity by more than 10,000 MW by 2022. To achieve this target early, the state government is planning to focus heavily on solar and wind power generation.’’
Gujarat currently has around 5,500 MW capacity for wind power generation and 1,492 MW solar power generation capacity.
The source added, “Obtaining land clearances for solar and wind power plants take a lot of time and costs, so to reduce time required for installation and use the transmission grid effectively, the government has planned to come up with a hybrid energy policy under which wind and solar power generation projects at the same site will be promoted and provided financial incentives.”
He added, “Currently, the government is working out the kind and extent of benefits to be offered under the new policy. It is also preparing a plan for withdrawing from the existing coal and gas-based power plants as both costs of production and maintenance keep escalating.”
The source said the government has reasoned that as solar power farms need horizontal space to install panels and windmills need vertical space, both types of renewable power generation units can share the same land plot. Thus not only cost of land, but also costs of installing power transmission infrastructure will be reduced, and their effective use increased as solar units can use the grid by day and wind power units can use the same grid by night. In hybrid plants optimum power can be generated with lesser carbon footprint, said the source.
The source said government is also thinking of installing windmills in existing solar parks as already solar and wind power generation has become much cheaper. “Hybrid solar and wind park on the same location using the same transmission network will drastically reduce costs and increase efficiency,” said the source.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes
