An Update form the Pioneer…
Combining hydro power, thermal power and utilising the immense potential of solar energy, Gujarat now boasts of being a power surplus State. So much so that all its 18,000 villages have access to round the clock uninterrupted three-phase power and still there is 2,000 MW for sale.
Struggling with power deficit for better part of the 1990s, Gujarat has made tremendous strides in the sector by adding additional power capacity to its grid every year.
Total electricity generation capacity has gone up from 8,000 megawatts (MW) 10 years ago to nearly 18,000 MW now, Principal Secretary, Power & Petrochemicals, DJ Pandian told The Pioneer on Saturday.
“We can provide power to the agriculture sector for full eight hours and still have 2,000 MW surplus that can be sold to other States which are in need and ready to pay,” said Pandian.
Though bulk of the generation capacity is in the thermal sector (13,500 MW), the turnaround in the power scenario has been brought about by laying stress on other non-conventional sources too.
Taking advantage of the constant breeze in the coastal areas of the State, as much as 2,800-MW capacity has come up in wind energy sector, which was virtually non-existent 10 years ago.
The icing on the cake in the power sector is the addition of the 605 MW solar power plants, dedicated to the nation by Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
Authorities in the State are optimistic that the increased demand of power from the agriculture sector can be fully met, in case of a deficient monsoon, as there is surplus generation capacity of 2,000 MW. All the 18,000 villages in Gujarat already get 24 hours uninterrupted three-phase power supply under the “Jyoti Gram Yojana”.
Failure of monsoon doesn’t affect Gujarat’s power generation as only about five per cent capacity is hydel-based while nearly one-fourth generation is gas-based.
As yet another feather in Gujarat’s power scenario cap, Narendra Modi has mooted the idea of rooftop solar power generation, a clean and green technology, which has been successfully experimented in the State capital Gandhinagar.
Called the Photovoltaic Rooftop Programme, the solar energy initiative would be replicated in other major cities too, said Pandian. Rooftop solar installations had huge market potential in India and Gujarat is now looking at tapping it, he added.
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