A Central Assistance of Rs. 900 crore will deny due to the cabinet’s decision to downgrade the proposed solar energy park in Kasaragod. The Kerala Government made a decision to reduce the capacity from 200 megawatt to 50 megawatt due to local issues. Kerala sought to move towards solar energy as the small state could not launch any hydel or coal power station due to the environmental impact.
The Kerala State Electricity Board has already spent Rs 70 crore to build a 220 kV substation in Kasaragod in anticipation of the project. Initially, State Government planned to install a 400-megawatt solar park in two phases. At least a 200-megawatt capacity plant will be recognized as a solar park by the central government. Other states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat had set a target of 4,000 megawatts for their solar plants.
The Central Government offers up to Rs 50 lakh per megawatt to every recognized solar park. The Kerala Government could have availed of about Rs 200 crore in this regard. The Central Government had also allotted Rs 700 crore to build a “green energy corridor” to supply the electricity generated in Kasaragod. The 400 kV line would have cost Rs 1,200 crore.
The first-phase 50-megawatt plant was built by the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency. A 50-megawatt project does not need such a massive line or the 220 kV substation the board has already built. A solar park needs five acres of land to produce 1 megawatt of electricity. The originally proposed park would take 2,000 acres in two stages. The government had identified a barren stretch of land for the project.
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