The rugged Bundelkhand region, which has suddenly become politically vibrant after Rahul Gandhi’s visit, would get UP’s biggest solar power plant with CM Akhilesh Yadav set to lay its foundation stone at Jalaun on January 27.
A highly placed source told ‘The Pioneer’ that a 50 MW plant, UP’s largest, would come up at Jalaun by the year end. The state government has initiated the process to set up two more solar plants in Bundelkhand – one in Jhansi and the other in Mahoba, all to be set up by private players.
A senior official at the CM’s office said that Bundelkhand would be developed into a hub of solar projects. “The government has acquired 250 acre of land in Jalaun for this. If everything goes well, the area will have several small solar power plants,” said the official in lucknow.
The state cabinet had already approved 15 projects which will generate 215 MW of solar power. The Adani Group plans to set up a 50 MW solar power plant. Others groups like Sukhveer Agro Energy ltd - a UP venture which also delves in the farm sector, Essel Group of Zee fame, Sahasdhara Energy Pvt ltd, Chennai, Sudhakara Infotech Pvt ltd, Hyderabad and other groups would set up solar power plants of 20 to 10 MW each.
These solar power plants will sell power to the state grid under a 25-year power purchase agreement, the price of which would be decided later.
The state government’s keenness to go ahead with solar power generation can be gauged from the fact that a proposal is on the cards to set up a Solar Power Corporation. Working like the UP Power Corporation limited, the new Corporation will set up solar power plants in the state and set up three plants of 30 MW each in Allahabad, Mirzapur and Jhansi.
The CM’s scheduled bisit to Jalaun has generated political heat as some section views it as a reply to Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit to Bundelkhand where he chided the UP government for its failure to deliver.
“Please do not view this visit with a jaundiced eye. The CM will also address a public meeting at Jalaun and interact with people. He does it everywhere and Jalaun will be no exception,” said SP spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary.