MNRE to unveil special solar zone policy in February

The ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) will next month unveil a policy for creation of special solar zones across India having an area of at least 100 sq.km.

“Next month, we will come out with a policy for developing solar zones. These zones will have an area of 10X10 km,” MNRE secretary Upendra Tripathy said at a conference in Delhi.

About 25% of the area of these solar zones will be marked for small and medium level enterprises which will develop small solar power projects less than 10 megawatt while another 25% will be set aside for a manufacturer of solar panels in the country, Tripathy said. The remaining 50% would be auctioned for solar parks.

He said the ministry would also explore option of hybrid zones which would have possibility of setting up both wind and solar power projects.

The policy would give a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India programme as well. The ministry would identify sunshine rich zones across the country. But the onus for providing land, however, would be on state governments.

The solar zone policy is besides the initiative of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) that Modi has taken. Modi and French President Francois Hollande will be laying the foundation stone of the secretariat of ISA on Monday in Gurgaon, on the outskirts of Delhi.

Tripathy said the plan is to mobilise $1 trillion in investments for deployment of affordable solar energy by 2030 across tropical countries and the ISA is likely to be a reality within the next six months.

“All countries are hopeful that the final agreement or statute for ISA will be signed by June. After that, we need ratification of 25 countries, thereafter ISA will come into existence,” said Tripathy.

The solar alliance will organize renewable energy investment meets in different parts of the world. “There are plans to organize five such meets but the final call will be taken by ISA’s steering committee. Till now, there have been two meetings of the steering committee of the ISA in Paris and Abu Dhabi. The date of the signing ceremony can be decided in the third meeting of the committee which is expected any time soon,” he added.

The solar alliance aims to be a coalition of around 120 tropical countries called sunshine nations as they receive abundant sunshine throughout the year.