KOZHIKODE: Faced with a looming power crisis, the state is looking up to the sun to meet its electricity requirement. There has been a surge in solar power production in recent years, says data with ANERT, the state government agency for exploring non-conventional energy sources.
Kerala has hit a new high in solar power production in the last financial year by recording a 50 per cent rise compared to the previous year. ANERT contributed 200 lakh units of electricity through its major projects.
Officers said the agency has initiated over 13,000 solar power projects out of which 100 are major initiatives with the capacity to produce a minimum of 5KW a year.
“There is a huge acceptance for solar power projects among the public and many families are opting for non-conventional ways to meet the power requirement,” said ANERT senior technical officer M Aneesh. He said the exact data regarding minor projects was not available with the agency.
“However, the total power generated through solar projects will be doubled if the data from minor projects is also included,” he said.
Officers say ANERT is gunning for a 10-fold hike in power generation by producing 40-50 MW. At present, the agency’s projects contribute only 0.25 per cent of the total power requirement of 3,500 MW.
give me some sunshine
As many as 13,000 solar power projects, including 100 major ones, initiated by ANERT are functional in the state.
200 lakh
units of power are generated yearly through the 100 projects.
ANERT’s power projects contribute 0.25 per cent of total electricity consumption of the state.
The agency is mulling a 10-fold hike in solar power production this financial year by generating 40-50 MW.
There is a huge acceptance for solar power projects among the public and many families are opting for non-conventional ways to meet the power requirement
M Aneesh, senior technical officer, ANERT