RANCHI: Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren unveiled the Jharkhand State Solar Policy of 2022 at a hotel here. The chief minister said with climate change now knocking on our doors, Jharkhand has made an effort to replace thermal power by clean energy and ensure reduction of emission of greenhouse gasses.
“Many of the villages atop the hilly tracts are inaccessible and could not be fully lit up. The Solar Policy 2022 will lay the foundation for lighting up all inaccessible villages by encouraging villages to set up solar power plants. Thermal power costs anything between Rs 4 and Rs 5 per unit, while solar power comes cheap at Rs 2 to Rs 2.50 per unit. One MW of solar power can be generated from a plant on a 5 acre plot. Hence, an entire district can be fully lit up with the help of solar plants on 400 to 500 acres,” he added.
Under this policy, the Soren government aims to produce 4,000 MW of solar power in the next five years by providing incentives and supporting entrepreneurs who are willing to invest in utility scale solar projects, distributed solar projects and off-grid solar projects, officials said. The policy document envisages a cumulative solar power generation of 3,000 MW through solar parks, non-solar parks, floating solar power plans and canal top units. That apart, Jharkhand aims to produce 720 MW power through rooftop solar units, captive solar units, and solar power agriculture, the policy states.
Under the new policy, households with annual income less than Rs 3 lakh will be provided subsidies to the tune of 60%-80% if they commission rooftop solar units on their residential places between 3KW and 10KW. Solar agriculture projects will draw subsidies to the tune of 30% of the total cost while solar pumps will be provided with subsidies up to 67%.
Source: PTI
