According to top officials, the State is planning to add an additional 473 MW of solar power to the existing 3,336 MW connected to grid. The State had set an ambitious target of connecting 5,000 MW of solar power to grid by 2022.
Hyderabad: Telangana has been the frontrunner in generating solar power in the country and going forward with plans to stay ahead of other States.
It moved from being a power-deficit State to ending power cuts within just six months of formation. And according to top officials, the State is planning to add an additional 473 MW of solar power to the existing 3,336 MW connected to grid. The State had set an ambitious target of connecting 5,000 MW of solar power to grid by 2022, said G Raghuma Reddy, CMD, Southern Power Distribution Company of Telangana.
“While the short-term plan of achieving zero power cuts has been achieved, the long-term plan is to provide continuous power supply in the rural areas through the use of renewable energy sources –mainly solar power. The State has the first mover advantage and is growing at a much faster pace in the solar power generation when compared to other States,” Reddy said at the inaugural of the third edition of RenewX organised by UBM India.
Reddy also said Telangana is the first State to adopt the solar distribution model for power distribution and generation. By dividing the State into 10 areas and taking each district as a unit, the solar power has a fixed cap and distributed accordingly. This has led to a reduction of transmission losses by about 3 per cent and TS discoms saved Rs 56 crore per annum in transmission losses.
To further accentuate the use of solar power, Reddy said the government was encouraging rooftop solar. “We have already connected 32.92 MW via rooftop and technology feasibility is being conducted for 38 MW generation,” he said and added that the sector was not bereft of any challenges. “One of the biggest challenges is the burden of high pricing that the State faces as it has the first-mover advantage. Second is the need for storage solutions for the solar power that is being generated. And lastly, Telangana region does not have the suitability of having other renewable energy sources like wind and that makes us overly dependent on solar,” Reddy informs.
The two-day RenewX expo commenced in Hyderabad on Friday and is being organised in partnership with the Telangana government. The expo has dedicated pavilions for startups and for the first time, a Green Job Fair is being organised. The job fair will provide opportunities to candidates to work with the leading names in the renewable energy sector across a plethora of job roles.
Source: telanganatoday
