Andhra Pradesh refrains from setting up new thermal power plants till 2022

The state government has started focusing on harnessing solar energy, the principal secretary for energy Ajay Jain said.
Power plant(Image for representational purpose | Reuters)
Power plant(Image for representational purpose | Reuters)

CHENNAI: In a bid to generate clean energy, the state government has decided to stop permitting new thermal power plants in Andhra Pradesh until 2022, said principal secretary for energy Ajay Jain.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, he said: "Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has directed the states to encourage renewable energy rather than generating electricity through coal. Since 2014, the state government has started focusing to harness the solar energy to meet the growing demand for power."

In this regard, solar plants are installed at Anantapur, Kurnool and Kadapa regions which has a great scope for renewable energy with the availability of humid climatic conditions prevailing in Rayalaseema throughout the year, he said and added that AP stood first in tapping the renewable energy through generating 1,867.23 MW, followed by Rajasthan (1,812 MW ), Telangana (1,287 MW) and Gujarat (1,250 MW).

India’s renewable energy target by 2022 is 175 gigawatts of which 1 lakh MW should be generated from solar and 60,000 MW from wind energy and the balance is from biomass, he explained. Following the same, AP has set the target of producing 10,000 MW from solar and 8,000 MW from wind energy, he said, adding that one crore tonnes of carbon dioxide could be reduced per year, if the 1,000 MW solar energy is produced.

Commenting on the tariffs of solar plants, he said that earlier in 2012, the unit cost is Rs 12 and in 2017 it stood at Rs 3.15 in respective of solar plant established at Kadapa. He also predicted that in near future the unit price may reach below Rs 3 per unit in the state. He also called up on the industrialists to set up solar power units.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com