HYDERABAD: Though solar power generation has significantly gone up in Telangana, State’s energy officials are in no mood to depend on this renewable energy source, since they see it as undependable.
“There was just 70 MW of solar power capacity when Telangana was formed. Over the past four years, it has increased to 3,680 MW now. We will be adding another 2,000 MW of solar power capacity in the next one to two years. Though solar power generation is rising robustly, we cannot depend on it as a base or main source and it can only be supplemental. For instance, we get 2,500 MW of solar power on a sunny day but decreases on a cloudy day and by the evening it becomes nil. Thus, solar power is needed but is not dependable unless storage facilities evolve,” said D Prabhakar Rao, CMD of TS TRANSCO and GENCO.
Telangana has emerged as a leading player in solar power generation in the country, next only to Rajasthan and has been focusing on further harnessing this renewable energy source. “Among renewable energy sources, we are getting most of the proposals to set up solar power plants. However, unless storage of solar power is ensured, we cannot depend on it.
All over the globe, research is being done on lithium-ion batteries, which will help in storage of solar power and unless a solution emerges for storage problem, hydel and thermal will be our mainstay to address energy needs,” explained Prabhakar Rao. While Telangana is leading in solar power generation, it is lagging in wind energy as the State accounts for just 100 MW of wind energy.