VIJAYAWADA: With a cumulative solar power capacity of 4552.12 MW, Andhra Pradesh stood fifth for generating 8,140.72 million units of solar power in 2022-23, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy R K Singh in a written reply to a query by YSRC MP Parimal Nathwani in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
The Union Minister disclosed that as on June 31, a cumulative solar power capacity of 70,096 MW has been installed in the country and the total solar power production in 2022-23 was 1,02,014.23 million units. According to the information provided by the minister, Rajasthan is the top state with the cumulative solar capacity of 17,839.98 MW, followed by Gujarat with 10,133.66 MW, Karnataka with 9,050 MW, Tamil Nadu with 6,892.81 MW, Maharashtra with 4,870.64, Telangana with 4,695.21 MW and Andhra Pradesh at 7th place with 4,552.12 MW. Rajasthan with 34,474.42 MU stood first in power generation in the country followed by Karnakata with 14,153.79 MU, Gujarat with 10,335.32 MU and Tamil Nadu with 9,419.39 MU.
As regard to the question as to whether the country has tapped the solar energy potential fully, the minister said, “India has an estimated solar power potential of 7,48,990 MW, hence, the potential of solar energy is not fully tapped, so far. The government is making efforts to harness the available potential thorough various schemes and programmes.”
Elaborating further, the Union Minister said that some of the measures taken by the government to tap the country’s potential in solar power production include permitting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 100 per cent under the automatic route, waiver of Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) charges for inter-state sale of solar and wind power for projects to be commissioned by June 2025, declaration of trajectory for Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) up to 2029-30, laying of new transmission lines and creating new sub-station capacity under the Green Energy Corridor scheme for evacuation of renewable power.
Speaking on plans for setting up more commercial solar power plants in the country, the Union Minister said that solar projects are developed largely through private investments by the project developers selected through tariff-based competitive bidding.