The Central Government has allotted a sum of Rs. 150 crore to promote the use of solar power among industries.
Central financial assistance would be provided under a Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy scheme with the sum being split in to two equal parts for the current and next financial year, according to Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA) Deputy General Manager of Madurai Region, S.E.S.Syed Ahamed. The Madurai Region of TEDA covers 16 districts of south and central Tamil Nadu.
Mr. Syed told The Hindu that under the ‘Solar Photovoltaic stand-alone power plant’ special scheme, Rs. 1.25 lakh per kilowatt would be provided as capital subsidy for industries installing SPV units of capacity between 1 to 10 KW.
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A sum of Rs. 300 crore has been provided under the 11th five year plan to promote use of solar stand alone power and other SPV utilities among industries. A sum of Rs. 1.50 lakh per 1 KW would be provided as capital subsidy for units installing SPV units of capacity between 10 to 100 megawatt.
Subsidy component
Giving an example, he said that a 100 KW SPV plant will approximately require a capital of Rs. 2.5 crore, of which the industry can avail Rs. 1.5 crore in subsidy. The industry has to pitch in only 40 per cent of the project cost, which could also be recovered in three years.
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“This is a very attractive scheme and would be of immense benefit to industries in Tamil Nadu to mitigate effects of the power crisis and also reduce costs,” he said. The solar power plants can generate power for 300 days a year.
The life time of a SPV plant is 25 years at the minimum and it provides an assured supply of power. The solar power plant will take between six and nine month for installation, said Mr. Syed.