Friday, April 22, 2011

Solar power target: 200 mw in 5 years

In a bid to comply with the Union government’s direction that at least 2.4 per cent of total power consumed in the state should come from renewable sources, the cabinet on Thursday decided to set up 200 mw solar power plants over the next five years.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the cabinet, higher education minister Dr V.S. Acharya said the cost of power generation by such solar plants would be shared by ESCOMs and would not be a burden on consumers. “We have decided to go in phased manner and set up 40 mw units every year. At the end of five years, plants for production of 200 mw will be set up,’’ he added.

The government has made the estimation based on a similar unit set up near Kolar by the Union government. The 3 MW project was set up at a cost of around Rs 58 crore. Besides, the project had consumed a lot of place.

“We require a place which will have 245 days sun shine and there are many places in north Karnataka, which are suitable for such projects,”’ Dr Acharya said.

Meanwhile, the cabinet also decided to increase the share value of Karnataka State Minorities Development Corporation from Rs 100 crore to Rs 150 crore. This would help students from minority communities to make use of educational loan up to Rs 50,000 at a rate of two per cent rate of interest.

Besides, the cabinet also extended administrative consent to the corporation for raising internal resources to the tune of Rs 25 crore, for Haj Bhavan at Tirumenahalli, near Yelahanka. The government had already sanctioned Rs 15 crore and allotted 3acres for the building.

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