India's largest solar power plant planned in Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal, Jul 31: Plans are afoot to set up the country's largest ultra mega solar power plant (UMSPP) in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa district, a senior official said on Thursday.

The plant, to produce 700 MW of electricity, would require an investment of Rs 4,000 crore, State's Additional Chief Secretary for New and Renewable Energy S R Mohanty told PTI.

The electricity from the plant would be available at Rs 5.40 paise per unit, which would be the lowest in the country, Mohanty said. The state government would set up the plant as a joint venture with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Power Grip Corporation and the Solar Energy Corporation of India, he said.

Thirteen hectares of land spread over four villages of Barseta, Ramnagar, Latar and Badwaar has been chosen for locating the plant in Gurh tehsil of Rewa, which is the home district of state Energy Minister Rajendra Shukla. The country's biggest solar plant with a capacity of 130 MW is situated in Neemuch district of the state.

Minister of State for Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal told Lok Sabha last week that the government is promoting generation of renewable energy by providing various fiscal and financial incentives such as capital and interest subsidy, concessional excise and customs duties to encourage Indian and foreign investors to invest in new renewable energy sector.

"Ultra mega solar power projects have been planned in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. The capacity will depend upon availability of land. On an average 1 MW of solar photovoltaic power project generates about 1.6 million units of electricity per annum," he said during Question Hour.

PTI