New and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal said that the next round of bidding by states for solar parks will begin soon.
So far 33 solar parks have been approved across the country.
“I have signed the file for round two of solar parks,” Mr. Goyal said while delivering the inaugural address of the National Workshop on Rooftop Solar. “We will soon have another round of bidding by the states for solar parks. It is a journey that will go on relentlessly.”
The minister added that the previous 20,000 MW target of solar power by 2022 will be achieved by 2017 now. The government has set a new target of 100 GW of solar power by 2022.
“There was a time when a 5,000 MW solar energy target looked large. Now, a 100,000 MW target looks small,” he said.
Mr. Goyal also said that, going forward, there was a need to reconcile the interests of the state distribution companies, consumers, and the central government.
“One will have to balance political compulsions and the economies of the discoms when it comes to giving a thrust to renewable energy,” Mr. Goyal said. “So, in that sense, there must be a great deal of interaction between regulators, state discoms, consumers and the government.
“Even if the price of power looks a rupee or so higher, the thing is it is a fixed price for 25 years. There is no source of energy that can give you an assured price for 25 years,” he added.
