With a view to proactively promote solar power generation, Haryana Government is formulating State Solar Power Policy. Announcing this, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that the State Government is also promoting off grid solar power plants and devices such as solar water heating systems, rooftop solar power plants, lED-based solar street lights, solar water pumping systems by providing financial incentives.
Hooda, while speaking at the inauguration of India’s first of its kind hi-tech production unit for Green Hybrid Box for solar projects at Gurgaon, said that the project would meet the millennium city’s power requirements and transform Gurgaon itself into Green City capital of the world.
He said that at present about 195.99 MW of electricity is being produced from renewable sources in the state. These included 73.30 MW from small hydro, 107.20 MW from biomass, 4.14 MW from waste to energy, 7.8 MW from solar and 2.74 MW from biomass gasification.
Hooda said that under the promotion of off-grid solar power programme, 30 projects of total 581 kw capacity have so far been setup in various public and private sector units and government offices in the state. Also, 550 kw capacity power plants, with each ranging from 5 to 100 kw capacity, are under process with additional 40 percent state assistance besides 30 percent central assistance. Apart from this, 457 villages mainly inhabited by members belonging to Scheduled Castes have been provided with 9117 solar street lighting systems.
“The State Government is also promoting installation of solar water heating systems in a big way by providing additional state assistance along with 30 percent Central Government assistance for social and domestic sector,” he added.
Hooda said that energy security plays a vital role in the development of a state and country. To maintain a growth rate at the level of 10 percent, the rate of consumption of energy increases by about 15 percent annually. Therefore, to provide better energy at economically viable cost is the priority of state government, he added.