VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy virtually laid the foundation stones for three renewable energy projects in Nandyal district on Wednesday. He asserted that the projects with a combined capacity to generate 5,314 MW power will enable the State to become the number one destination for green energy.
While Greenko will set up a 2,300 MW solar power project with Rs 10,350 crore at Junuthala village in Owk Mandal, AM Green Energy will establish a 1,014 MW project, comprising a 700 MW solar power plant and 314 MW wind power plant, at a cost of Rs 4,500 crore at Kandikayapalle village. Similarly, Ecoren Energy will set up a 2,000 MW project with solar and wind power plants of 1,000 MW capacity each with Rs 11,000 crore at Muddavaram village.
The projects will create 2,300, 1,000 and 2,000 jobs respectively. Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation (APGENCO) also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Hydro-Electric Power Corporation (NHPC) in the CM’s presence.
The pact aims to promote pumped storage projects. On the occasion, he also released a white paper on the opportunities for investments in the State in the green hydrogen sector. After laying the stones for the projects from the camp office in Tadepalli, Jagan pointed out that solar power can be generated from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., while wind power can be produced from dusk till dawn, resulting in reduced dependency on fossil fuels.
“Pumped storage power projects will not only help us produce energy during peak hours, but also usher in a revolution in green energy, which our State will be a part of, and control the world in future,” the Chief Minister remarked.
Elaborating on the MoU, Jagan said APGENCO and NHPC will set up two pump storage units with a capacity of 1000 MW and 950 MW at Yaganti and Kapalapadu, respectively with a joint investment of Rs 10,000 crore, creating 2,000 jobs, Jagan said. He added that they will also establish pump storage power units with a capacity of 2,750 MW in three more locations for which feasibility studies are underway.
Besides providing jobs to locals, the companies will also pay a royalty of Rs 1 lakh to the State government for each MW generated and pay farmers, who have given their lands, Rs 30,000 per acre every year with a price escalation of five per cent every two years.
In its efforts to provide electricity to farmers in the daytime, Andhra Pradesh is generating 8,998 MW of solar and wind power, Jagan pointed out. On future projects, he explained that of the total 37 locations identified for pump storage units to produce 41,000 MW power, feasibility studies have been completed for 29 projects, which will generate 33,240 MW energy. While detailed project reports (DPRs) have been formulated for plants with a combined capacity of 20,900 MW, companies have been given permission to begin work to produce 16,180 MW power, he added.
Energy Minister P Ramachandra Reddy, Finance Minister B Rajendranath, Chief Secretary KS Jawahar Reddy, APGENCO MD KVN Chakradhar Babu, NREDCAP MD S Ramana Reddy, British Deputy High Commissioner Gareth Wynn Owen, Deputy Head Mission (UK Government) Varun Mali, senior advisor to the UK Government Nishant Kumar Singh, and others were present.