MoU marks the beginning of a fresh green revolution.
Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) is to set up 100 MW of decentralized ground-mounted Solar Power projects on government lands in Goa to be used for agricultural pumping and replacing approximately 6,300 agricultural pumps with BEE star rated energy efficient pumps.
It will also distribute approximately 16 Lakh LED bulbs for rural domestic households under a Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Ministry of Power and Goa State’s Department of New & Renewable Energy (DNRE).
The EESL and DNRE will start by carrying out feasibility studies and subsequent implementation of decentralized solar energy projects.
The projects are under India’s first Convergence Project in the State.
The MoU signing was witnessed through video conference by the Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, R K Singh, Nilesh Cabral, Power Minister, Goa, Sanjiv Nandan Sahai, Secretary, Ministry of Power, and other senior officers of the ministry on 17 Nov 2020.
Speaking on the occasion, R K Singh said that the MOU signed between EESL and the Government of Goa state in some sense marks the beginning of a fresh green revolution.
“When we started the PM-KUSUM, this is what was in our mind to restart fresh green revolution in the agriculture sector,” said Singh.
“This model is expected to be adopted by other states as this will reduces losses in terms of expenditure on the water for the farm sector runs into tens of thousands crore rupees in several States. That preempts state spending on health, education, and other important sectors,” he said.
Singh has asked his Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to look out for incentivising saving on energy and groundwater by farmers.
Singh said he expected a faster rollout of this model as also utilising opportunities under PM-KUSUM by the States.
Together with the new Roof Top Solar Scheme, this will prove to be a “win-win” for farmers and States and help them turn into green States.
The project will accrue savings of Rs.2,574 crores to the State over 25 years while improving the health of DISCOMs and providing cleaner power, added Nilesh Cabral.
“This project will provide clean day time electricity to farmers as well as energy-efficient pump sets which would reduce the power consumption as well as T&D losses associated with transmitting power to agriculture and rural feeder networks,” said Cabral.
The projects will accelerate the usage of renewable energy sources, especially for agricultural and rural power consumption in the State. These will also contribute to the reduction of peak energy demand through the deployment of energy-efficient pumping and lighting thus contributing to overall sustainability.
With the objective of providing clean power at affordable rates, EESL will install solar projects in a first of its kind large scale programme in Goa on vacant and unused land provided by the Gram Panchayats and electricity board will be utilized.
The solar power plant will be installed near the substation, with capacities ranging from 500KW to 2 MW, depending on the size of the land. This will enable DISCOMs to supply power during the day time and reduce transmission losses.
“We believe that in a solar power rich country like India, the effective harnessing of this abundant resource can yield handsome returns for all stakeholders,” added Sanjiv Nandan Sahai
“EESL has been one of the pioneers in the implementation of decentralised solar in India and with this project the country will unlock multiple benefits of solar energy, battery storage and carbon financing,” said Sahai.
EESL seeks to connect seemingly independent sectors like Solar Energy, Energy Storage and LED lights to provide solutions, which can enable decarbonisation and affordable energy access through its convergence initiative.
Under this programme, EESL is offering convergent interventions, which solve multiple gap areas in the energy ecosystem. It is currently providing solutions such as solarised agriculture feeders, LED street lights in local villages and battery energy storage systems.
EESL is also leveraging the carbon financing mechanism to rapidly strengthen rural infrastructure in a clean and sustainable manner, to create a resilient and sustainable rural community in India.
Its climate financing interventions currently include Gram UJALA, Decentralised Solar and Gram Panchayat Street Lights programmes. #solar #renewables #OPEC #energy #projects #tenders /fiinews.com
