Rajasthan crosses 10,000 MW milestone

Context:

• Recently, Solar energy capacity in Rajasthan has crossed the 10,000-megawatt milestone, accounting for 20% of the total capacity in the country.
• The state is already the top position in terms of  installed solar capacity. Now Rajasthan’s lead over Karnataka and Gujarat has further increased.

Key Points:

• According to data issued by the Ministry of New and renewable energy, Rajasthan has achieved more than 10GW solar capacity addition.
• After the rollout of renewable energy policy, the scenario of the solar sector has drastically changed.
• Within the three-year period, 6,552MW additional capacity has been developed. Out of 49GW installed solar capacity in the country, Rajasthan has alone developed 10.5GW as of now.
• Due to state government’s pro-active approach, new projects are lining up in the state which will further firm up Rajasthan’s position as largest solar hub in the country.
• The state would be a major contributor in achieving the Centre’s ambitious target of 500GW renewable energy capacity by 2030 announced by the Prime Minister.
• Recently, the state government signed letter of intents and MoUs with public sector companies and private investors for a large number of projects.
• The pipeline of new projects is very robust and it will further firm up the state’s position as the largest solar hub in the country, according to Additional chief secretary (mines, petroleum, energy).
• As per report, Karnataka is the second-highest with 7,534MW capacity and Gujarat at third position (6,309MW).
• Out of total 10,506MW in Rajasthan, ground mounted projects account for 9,552MW, 668MW from rooftop and 296MW capacity developed through offgrid solar systems.
• According to Solar industry members in the state, while the availability of barren and semi-fertile land has been a major driver of new projects, the manufacturing segment has not kept pace with the generation.
• The Solar industry members want to see the government reaching out to manufacturers to make solar components like cells, panels and inverters.
• Unless manufacturing picks up, the benefits to the state will remain limited according to the prominent industry representatives operating in the state.