Telangana to add 50 mw rooftop solar capacity
The State also follows a decentralised model of solar power generation and as a result the power generation has spread to multiple locations.
Hyderabad: Telangana State, which has been promoting use of renewable energies, will soon add about 50 mw capacity in the solar rooftop segment. This will add to the existing 250 mw solar rooftop capacity in the State. This contrasts with the situation of having about just 2 mw seven years ago before the State came into being, said N Janaiah, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, TSREDCO, the nodal body for promoting renewable energy in the State.
Participating in a webinar on ‘Advantage Telangana- Leading the way to India’s Clean Energy Transformation’, organised by Informa Markets India, on Friday, he said Telangana has been making big strides in the solar segments with a dedicated renewable policy.
The State also follows a decentralised model of solar power generation and as a result the power generation has spread to multiple locations. This model fares better than a solar park concept, where the production is centered in one location and needs large tracts of land.
On the electric vehicles front, Janaiah said the State has a policy in place to support electric vehicle adoption. Telangana is among the few States that has set up charging points in various Government departments as mandated by the FAME-I guidelines. It has also called for a tender for assisting various government departments with e-mobility solutions, he said.
Telangana, under FAME-II, has identified 600 locations for setting up charging stations/points. These include various Government departments, PSUs, Municipal and Urban Development , discoms and others, the official said.
While Hyderabad remains the key location for setting up the charging stations, a few will also come in Warangal and Karimnagar, Janaiah said.
Sujai Karampuri, Director, Electronics IT E&C Department, said Telangana Government is regularly holding discussions with the stakeholders of EV industry on improving the EV ecosystem. The State wants to be the number one destination for EV investments. Many players have already set up their research and development units here and are supporting the startup ecosystem.
T-Works, India’s largest prototyping centre in Hyderabad, created by the Government of Telangana, has a separate vertical that is dedicated to the EV segment. It has already signed up with Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) for working in the automobile segment. T-Works will be a platform for EV-related research programmes, the official said, adding that the State already has set up EV Park and Energy Storage Park.
Industry suggestions
Gaurav Gupta, Chief Commercial Officer, MG Motor India, said the States can consider giving early adopter benefits to those buying EVs. They could include no-toll charges and allowing free parking slots. About 80 per cent of the vehicles are charged at home and separate metering (green meters) can be implemented to offer a preferential tariff for the units consumed for charging the EVs.
Pavan Vaish, Head of Central Operations, India and South Asia, Uber India, said incentives can be given to the companies that would use EVs to transport their employees. CNG cars are used extensively for ride shares now thanks to the support of the Government. Similar initiatives can be brought out for the EVs. Two and three wheelers can be covered first and four wheelers, which still need to break the price barrier, can be considered later.
Chiranjeev Saluja, Managing Director, Premier Energies Limited, said the focus of domestic manufacturing has been on solar cells and modules. Now, it has to shift to wafers and ingots
Amazon data centres
Amazon is setting up data centres in and around Hyderabad and they will be looking to use renewable energy from the sustainability point of view, said Sandeep Kumar Sultania, Energy Secretary.
It may be recalled that e-commerce major Amazon in February last year announced that it is considering setting up two data centres near Hyderabad with a total investment of Rs 11,630 crore (around $1.6 billion).
One of the data centres is planned in Meerkhanpet village under Kandukur mandal in Rangareddy district. This one will see an investment of Rs 5,809 crore and will come up in about 48 acre. The other data centre is planned in 33 acre in Chandanvelly and Hythabad villages in Shabad mandal. This one is likely to see an investment of Rs 5,821 crore.
Speaking on the EVs, Sultania said Telangana now has about 9,000 EVs and that number is likely to increase to 30,000 this year. The Solar Policy gave a boost to the solar industry and EVs.
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