The State government is proposing to go in for the installation of captive solar power plants for at least 3,000 megawatt.
Announcing this at the Power Ministers' Conference at New Delhi on Wednesday, Natham R. Viswanthan, Electricity Minister, said the large-scale installation of such plants was being proposed to reduce the pressure on conventional sources of energy.
The address delivered by Governor Surjit Singh Barnala to the Assembly last month stated that the government would unveil an exclusive policy for the promotion of renewable energy.
Giving an account of the State government's plans to promote renewable energy, the Minister told the conference that the State government was planning to launch a solar-powered greenhouse scheme for the benefit of rural poor. It had also been proposed to install solar streetlights in villages.
Pointing out that the installed capacity of wind energy in the State stood at 6,067 megawatt (MW) [accounting for 47 per cent of the country's capacity] as on June 30, the Minister said private developers had indicated their readiness to add the capacity by 10,000 MW in five years. To cater to this, the State proposed a Rs.3,800-crore transmission project, which would cover the establishment of dedicated 400-KV sub-stations, 230-KV sub-stations and associated EHT (extra high-tension) lines for evacuation.
