Andhra Pradesh to Give Farmers Power to Sell Power

The project will be launched on a pilot basis in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaran and Srikakulam district. The first 75,000 solar pump sets worth Rs 3.5 lakh each will be provided to farmers in these districts. On an estimate the pilot project will cost around Rs 2,625 Crore.

Andhra Pradesh government is planning to initiate a scheme that will benefit both power grids as well as the farmers of the state. Under the ‘grid connected solar pump set and income generation scheme’ farmers can irrigate their lands with free power and sell the surplus power to the grids.

Through the grid connected solar pumpset scheme, farmers can earn around Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000 per year. All the pumps under this scheme will be provided by the government of the state.

The project will be launched on a pilot basis in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaran and Srikakulam district. The first 75,000 solar pump sets worth Rs 3.5 lakh each will be provided to farmers in these districts. On an estimate the pilot project will cost around Rs 2,625 Crore.

The tenders for the scheme are expected to come in June. The nodal agency for the tender process is New and Renewable Energy Corporation (NREDCAP). Government of the state is of the opinion that single tender with engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) will help in fast implementation of the scheme.

To implement it in a much effective way the discoms have been recommended to borrow capital from Rural Electricity Corporation, NABARD, World Bank, Indian Renewable Development Agency, Power Finance Corporation, SBI and Andhra Bank.

On 22 May a meeting is expected by NREDCAP with all the players like system integrators, pump manufacturers, solar pump developers, lenders, Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) and discoms in Vijayawada to discuss the modalities of the scheme implementation.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in a teleconference has directed energy department to work out modalities in such a way that each and every farmer who has a solar pump set will get a benefit of minimum Rs 5,000 per year by using these pump sets.