Kolkata: State Power minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay on Thursday blamed the Centre for not allotting funds for the development and promotion of green energy projects initiated in the state. “Despite repeated requests from the state government, the Centre is not allotting funds for renewable energy-based power projects. The Centre has stipulated that we set up solar parks on large tracts of land (2,000 acre). But due a shortage of land, it is not always easy to construct a solar park as it would require a huge area. We are, however, implementing such projects on fragmented lands. We have asked the Centre to consider allocating funds for small solar projects as well,” Chattopadhyay said.
He was speaking at the sidelines of the 8th Energy Conclave 2017 organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at a city hotel. The minister also pointed out that the Centre is not ready to provide funds for small scale renewable energy projects. Despite financial constraints, the state Power department has been carrying out various projects to promote and develop an alternative energy source in the state.
The Bengal government has been awaiting Centre’s responses to its demands for relaxation of terms and conditions laid down for availing clean energy funds for solar power projects, the minister also maintained.
It may be mentioned while attending a national conference of power ministers in New Delhi a few months ago, Chattopadhyay urged the Union Power minister to clear funds for various undergoing projects in the state but the Bengal government is yet to get any financial aid from the Centre in this regard.
While delivering his speech at the energy conclave, Chattopadhyay also drew the attention of the Centre for the increase in the price of coal as the clean energy cess has also gone up by a huge margin. This move has been affecting the power projects in the state, Chattopadhyay maintained.
He also urged the Centre to take necessary steps so that solar or other alternative resources projects get a financial boost in the state and ensure that the cost of solar power comes down. He also reminded that the state Power department has taken up two more new solar projects of capacities of 10 MW and 200 MW. Despite financial challenges, the state government has created a policy to provide power to the customers at a cheaper rate.
K K Arya, Member (Hydro), Central Electricity Authority earlier in the programme said that the Union Power Ministry is working on a hydropower policy which has entered the final stage. In a bid to revive stalled projects, the Centre is creating a hydro power development fund, he added. Currently, there are 14 stalled hydro power projects in the country.
Source: millenniumpost.in
