Assam CM inaugurates solar power project at Khudigaon

Powering Assam’s green future and making a major clean-energy milestone, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday inaugurated a 70 MW solar power project at Khudigaon in Bilasipara. Built at a cost of over Rs 350 crore, the project will generate 141 million units of electricity annually while reducing nearly 1.15 lakh tonnes of carbon emissions. The implementing agency will operate and maintain the project for a period of 25 years.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Sarma said that as a fallout of a series of steps taken by the State Government, Assam’s solar capacity now stands at 680 MW. He said that with more projects in the pipeline, the State is steadily moving towards its goal of 2,000 MW of renewable power and greater energy self-reliance. The Chief Minister also said that a power purchase agreement has already been signed between APDCL and SGEL (SJVN Green Energy Limited) for the purchase of electricity generated from the project at a tariff of Rs 3.92 per unit.

The project will be constructed by SJVN Green Energy Limited, a subsidiary of SJVN, a Navratna public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Power, Government of India, on 1,000 bighas of land allotted to the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited. Chief Minister Sarma said that the project has been completed in a record time. He stated that the project will significantly contribute towards making Assam self-reliant in the green power sector.

He also said that there was virtually no solar power generation in the State earlier, whereas with the commissioning of this 70 MW project, the total solar power generation capacity in Assam has now increased to 680 MW. He further informed that another 50 MW solar power project is under construction at Borsola in Sonitpur district and is planned to be inaugurated by April. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Minister Power etc Prasanta Phukan, Additional Chief Secretary

to the Chief Minister  KK Dwivedi, Managing Director APDCL Rakesh Kumar, Mission Director Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission Kuntal Moni Sarma Bordoloi, District Commissioner Dhubri Nabadeep Pathak, District Commissioner Kokrajhar Pankaj Chakravarty, senior officials of SJVN Limited, and other distinguished guests.