SOLAR PARK SCHEME
CONTEXT :
- Recently, Ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) has extended the scheme for the development of solar parks and ultra mega solar park projects till FY26 instead of FY24.
ABOUT SOLAR PARK :
- A solar park is large chunk of land developed with transmission infrastructure, roads, water, drainage and communication network among others, with all clearances.
- The solar park is a concentrated zone of development of solar power generation project.
- Solar Park also facilitates developers by reducing the number of required approvals.
ABOUT SOLAR PARK SCHEME:
- The scheme was rolled out in December 2014 to support states and union territories set up solar parks with a view to creating the infrastructure needed for setting up of solar power projects.
- Under the scheme, the ministry provides central financial assistance (CFA) of up to ₹25 lakh per solar park for prepa- ration of detailed project report (DPR).
- Beside this, CFA of up to ₹20 lakh per MW or 30% of the project cost, including grid-connectivity cost, is also provided on achieving the milestones prescribed in the scheme.
- The extension follows slow progress in the development of solar parks.
TARGETS UNDER THE SCHEME:
- It was planned to set up at least 25 solar parks, each with a capacity of 500 MW and above.
- Thereby targeting around 20,000 MW of solar power installed capacity.
- These solar parks are proposed to be set up within in a span of five years commencing from 2014–15.
CURRENT STATUS :
- Union minister for MNRE RK Singh told Parliament in March that of the 57 solar parks with an aggregate capacity 39.28 GW. Only nine had been fully completed and another eight partially complete as of February 2023.
SYLLABUS: PRELIMS, INFRASTRUCTURE
