Modhera : From Sun Temple to Sun Village
Context :
PM Modi begins three-day Gujarat visit; to inaugurate projects ahead of election . / HINDU / 09 Oct 2022
Extract :
“From today, people in Modhera will no longer pay for electricity but will instead sell it and earn from it. Earlier, the government supplied power to residents; now, with the installation of solar panels, residents now produce their own electricity,” he said amid AAP’s pre-poll sop of 300 units of free electricity if voted to power in the State.
In Modhera, all residents have installed rooftop solar panels on their home under the State government’s scheme.
https://www.livemint.com/news/
Extract :
Making Modhera the country's first round-the-clock solar-powered village involved developing a ground-mounted solar power plant and more than 1,300 rooftop solar systems on residential and government buildings, a government release said.
PM declares Guj village first with full solar power / Hindustan Times / 09 Oct 2022
Extract :
The government used to produce electricity and citizens purchased it but now the Centre is making efforts to ensure that people can turn into producers of electricity, the PM said
“The people are not only getting free electricity, they even make money by selling the extra power generated. Here, the household owners and farmers are generators and users of electricity. Whatever extra power is generated, they sell it to the government. Not only are their power bills reduced to zero, they can even make some extra income by selling power to government,” he said at a rally in poll-bound Gujarat.
Addressing the rally, the PM said the government is providing financial assistance to generate power using rooftop solar panels and hundreds of thousands of solar pumps have been installed across the country for irrigation purposes.
“Whenever people will talk about solar in future, Modhera will be at the top of the minds. It is a place where everything is run using solar power be it agriculture or household utilities,” he said.
According to a statement from the Gujarat government, both central and state governments invested over ₹80 crore in the project, with the state allotting 12 hectares of area for the project.
“The people in the village can save 60% to 100% on their electricity bills with this project,” the release said.
My Take :
Can this “ Miracle of Modhera “ be replicated in 600,000 villages of India ?
Without a doubt – if there is a political WILL
It is not difficult at all to find , on the outskirts of every village , just 10 – 20 hectares of land ( belonging to the State Government ), which is neither used for farming , nor for cattle-grazing
That leaves the question of raising Rs 80 crore for each village ( a simplified assumption )
To find Rs 80 crore each for 6 lakh villages , is no doubt beyond the means of , either the Central Govt or the State Governments
Villagers, themselves may not be able to contribute in any significant manner
On the other hand, City dwellers have funds for installing Solar Panels but just not enough Roof Area ( 100 KW requirement of 10 tenants of a multi-story building, would require 10,000 Sq Ft of terrace area ! )
But here is my 2 YEAR old suggestion , which can supply to “ city dwellers “ , solar power produced by “ village dwellers “ , living hundreds or thousands of km away !
Ø A Tale of Two States ………………………………………………..[ 28 Oct 2020 ]
Extract :
Ø Introduce “ Co-operative Farming of Solar Power / CFSP “
{ along the lines of Dairy Farmers’ AMUL Milk Cooperative Society }
Ø Under CFSP, provide 30 % Capital Cost Subsidy to companies setting up large ( > 500 MW ) Solar Farms in remote areas ( eg : desert areas of Kutch – Spiti – Lahul – Ladakh etc , which have a potential to generate 315 GW of Solar power )
Read : https://myblogepage.
Ø 1 MW of ( grid ) solar will need 100,000 sq ft of solar panels ( 1 KW will need 100 sq ft )
Ø The estimated cost of 1 MW solar power plant is approx. Rs 4 - 6 crore.
Ø That works out to approx. Rs 400 - 600 / sq ft of Capital cost for Solar panels
Ø Solar Farm company can “ Sell “ ownership rights of solar panels to individuals in modules of 1000 sq ft, ( costing Rs 4- 6 lakh per module ). These rights can be sold / transferred to any buyer, only with prior permission of the Solar Farm Company concerned
Ø Each module ( of 1,000 sq ft ) will generate 10 KW of power, which Company will feed into a NATIONAL GRID ( free ) .
Ø Each such Co-operative Company can reserve / own by itself, 30 % of Solar Panels for generating power for sale in free market
Ø My nearest DISCOM will supply me those 10 KW, free of cost ( ie: deduct from my monthly usage ) . Any excess over my actual consumption, to be credited to my account
Ø Depending upon my usage / need , I as an individual CO-OPERATIVE OWNER , can “ buy “ any number of STANDARD MODULES, and from any number of Cooperative Farming companies or other Co-op Owners
Ø This set-up will require NATIONAL SOLAR EXCHANGE in which ALL discoms will be mandated to become members
Dear Shri R K Singhji,
Barely 3 WEEKS after sending you above-mentioned e-mail, I was delighted to read that your Ministry has
planned to launch a Scheme, almost IDENTICAL to what I had suggested , as summarized below :
Ø Congratulations , Shri R K Singhji …………………………….[ 19 Nov 2020 ]
Extract :
Ø Name of Scheme
'Development of Wind Parks /Wind-solar Hybrid Parks
Ø “ Plug and Play “ solution
Wind Energy Park will provide a plug and play solution ( availability of land, transmission, necessary infrastructure and necessary approvals ) to the investors for installing wind / wind-solar power projects
Ø Sites
Sits have been identified across seven states – Tamil Nadu / Andhra Pradesh / Karnataka / Telangana / Gujarat / Rajasthan / Madhya Pradesh
Ø Who will select Park developers ?
The State Government would designate park developer who would undertake the development of park including DPR preparation, land, transmission infrastructure etc
Ø Potential
For a capacity of 53,495 MW ( 53.5 GW ) - @ 5 MW per sq km
Ø Prescribed Capacity of each park
500 MW and more. In special circumstances, smaller parks may be allowed . In any case, the capacity of each park shall not be less than 50 MW.
Ø Who can invest in a park ?
Park developers may also be allowed to “ pool “ small investor into the single park
Ø MNRE’s Financial assistance to the developer
# For preparation of DPR > Rs 25 lakh per park
# For park development cost > “ Rs 20 lakh / MW “ or “ 30 % of development cost “,
whichever is lower
Ø Interstate Transfer of power
If the power generated in the park (full or partial) is exported to other state, then the state
government or its designated agency will be entitled for a facilitation charge @ 5 paisa per unit
of electricity exported to other state from project developer
Ø Comments to be sent by > 28 Nov. 2020 ( to Shri Rahul Rawat - rahul.mnre@gov.in )
With regards,
Hemen Parekh
hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 10 Oct 2022
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