Question : SOLAR POWER PLANTS

(a) whether the Government proposes to declare the western part of Rajasthan as a special zone for solar energy generation;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the Union Government has received any proposal from the State Governments of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh for the setting up of solar power plants in these States;

(d) if so, the State-wise details thereof and the time by which the proposal are likely to be sanctioned; and

(e) the other incentives being provided by the Government for the promotion of solar energy in the country including the western part of Rajasthan?

THE MINISTER OF NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY(DR. FAROOQ ABDULLAH)

(a)&(b): The Government has been implementing various programmes for generation of solar energy all over the country including western Rajasthan. The Government of Rajasthan has recently identified sites in Jodhpur & Jaisalmer districts for development of solar parks with a view to set up solar power projects under Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), launched by the Government of India.

(c)&(d): In Rajasthan, the Ministry has sanctioned installation of stand alone solar photovoltaic (SPV) power plants of 1.12 kWp capacity each at Panchayat buildings in 9168 numbers of villages during June 2010.

The Ministry has sanctioned project proposals for installation of 900 kWp stand alone SPV power plants at forest training institutes, forest range offices and check posts in Madhya Pradesh. In addition, project proposals for installation of 500 kWp capacity SPV power plants at tribal hostels and police stations in Balaghat district, and 280 kWp capacity SPV power plants at 28 numbers of community health centres have been received.

In addition, grid connected solar power projects can be set up by developers on build, own and operate basis under the generation based incentive schemes of the Ministry.

(e): Various incentives available for off-grid solar applications include financial support through a combination of 30 % subsidy and/or 5% interest bearing loans. For grid connected solar power projects, generation based incentive linked to tariff declared by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission are available. Besides, fiscal incentives in the form of reduced/nil custom duty and exemption of excise duty are also available for initial setting up of solar power projects.