SP Sharma
While J&K appears to be almost out of the race in tapping renewable energy to meet the challenge of acute shortage of electricity, the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh with similar topography and Punjab with plain landscape have gone far ahead in this sector. Moreover, Punjab is set to become the leader of the North in generating electricity from solar energy.
With the Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan that has become a hurdle for J&K in tapping the vast hydroelectric potential that was flowing waste, taking the renewable energy course was perhaps an effective answer to meet the power shortage in the state. But unfortunately, hardly any groundwork seems to have been done by the officialdom to set up any solar power projects although the number of unelectrified villages was highest in J&K as compared to any other state particularly in the North.
Punjab due to the initiative and thrust of the minister for renewable energy, Bikramjeet Singh Majithia, has made a major leap forward in tapping renewable energy and has set the target to develop 5400 mw non-conventional power capacity by the year 2022 with the generation of 300 mw from biomass, 680 mw from co-generation power, 4200 mw from solar, 200 mw from hydel and 20 mw by converting waste into energy.
According to Majithia, Punjab in the first phase was tapping 250 mw solar power and projects worth Rs.1700 crore were allocated, 24 Projects of 184 MW worth Rs. 1300 crore have been commissioned and 4 projects of 38 mw were under implementation.
With similar mountainous topography and network of rivulets like J&K, Himachal Pradesh has in the private sector set up 475 small hydroelectric projects to generate 1208 mws of electricity, whereas even the file work of the 10 small hydroelectric projects identified in J&K more than 15 years ago has not been completed. During his previous regime in 2003, Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed ordered the concerned officers to take immediate steps to start work on these projects, but the matter was again pushed under the carpet when he ceased to be in office.
The process of exploitation of hydel potential in small hydro sector through private sector began in Himachal Pradesh during 1995-96. Since then, the allotment of project sites has been a continuous process, says Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. Till August last year, 475 small hydroelectric projects (upto 5MW capacity) with an aggregate capacity of 1208.62 mws have been allotted. Out of these, 64 projects with an aggregate capacity of 238.85 MW have been commissioned. 3 projects of total capacity 2.70 MW also commissioned in private sector under UNDP-GEF Programme. 13 project with an aggregate capacity 16.87 MW have been allotted to Himurja for development in the state sector. Out of these 10 projects of total capacity 2.37 MW have been commissioned.
Small hydroelectric projects up to 2 mws capacity have been reserved for residents of Himachal Pradesh. The state also has the credit of constructing the new buildings as solar passive that save energy. Himachal Pradesh won the national award for successfully projecting generation of renewable energy.
The small hydroelectric projects were most suited for states like J&K and Himachal Pradesh as these have a very less gestation period as compared to large projects and moreover these can be commissioned with much less financial implication.
The three years old ambitious plan of J&K to set up projects to generate 5000 mws of electricity through solar energy in Ladakh has hit roadblock as the frontier region does not have transmission lines to carry power from there to other parts of the state or link it with the Northern grid. However, the Ladakh Renewable Energy Development Agency (LREDA) has done commendable job in tapping renewable energy as compared to the main agency of the state that seems to have confined its activities to purchase of solar lanterns, solar cookers and other such stuff to supply to people in remote areas of the Jammu and the Kashmir divisions. Most of the projects initiated in Jammu and Srinagar have developed snags and the faults have not been removed since long periods.
Ironically, J&K miserably failed to take benefit of the renewable energy sector when Dr.Farooq Abdullah was holding the portfolio at the centre.
The J&K Government has identified a potential of 111 giga watts of solar energy in Ladakh, but this would remain just on the paper until a reliable transmission system was laid as the frontier region remains cut off from rest of the country for about seven months due to heavy snow.
Coming back to Punjab, the state has taken major strides in the solar power generation capacity addition from 9 mws in 2012 to 206 mws in 2015 and it could become possible with active participation of the private solar power developers. In addition in Phase-II, 282 mws capacity solar power projects have been allocated and power purchase agreements signed, which comprises of 229 mws ground mount and 53 mws rooftop projects. These projects are scheduled for commissioning by March next year. About 6000 acres of panchayat and private land has been identified for this purpose.
Majithia said that due to concerted efforts, major companies like Punj Lloyd, Wellspun, Azure Power, Essel, Acme, Lanco, Luminous, and investors from USA, FRANCE, ISREAL and SLOVAKIA have invested more than Rs.1400 crore and set up solar power projects in the state.
Besides, some NRIs have set up solar power projects in their ancestral villages in Taran Taran, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Mansa by investing worth Rs.228 crores to help their villagefolk.
(The writer is a senior journalist)
(Feedback: sharmasp07@gmail.com)
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