New Policies, Thrust On RE Set To Change UP’s Solar Picture: Experts

Experts and industry leaders working in the clean energy sector claimed that a thrust on renewable technologies in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and new green government policies are set to change the picture of Solar in UP soon. The discussions were part of Saur Energy’s Solar Trailblazers event in Lucknow to brainstorm on the potential and challenges of the sector in UP.

The maiden panel discussion of the event took up the debate on the potential of the renewable energy sector in the state and underlying issues. The event was moderated by Saur Energy Group Editor Prasanna Singh. The experts who joined the event and shared their insights in the discussion included–Arvind Semwal (Head, Sales and Marketing-North & East India) from Adani Solar, Jaideep Saraswat (Associate Director, Vasudha Foundation) and Ram Anuj Verma (Founder, RAVC Solutions Pvt Ltd).

Talking about the challenges in the solar sector in UP, Saraswat said that the lack of large land availability for utility-scale project, limitations of discoms and lack of awareness on distributed solar technologies in the rural areas remained the major challenges in the growth of renewables.

He however also pointed out the major initiatives of the government and the growth of the green sector in UP. “Notwithstanding the challenges, UP is working to boost its growth of renewable power through other innovative technologies like floating solar, pumped hydro or agrovoltaics. 

“UP has around 4,192 water bodies spanning in an area greater than 15000 sq-mts. Out of this 4,192 water bodies are perennial. UP has a floating solar potential ranging from 9.5 GW to 4.3 GW while has 22 GW of total potential in the utility-scale projects,” he added.

He also lauded the efforts of the government for coming up with UP Solar City Portal, which he said empowers the residents of 18 solar cities in UP to track the potential of their site for solar projects, estimate the cost of solar projects like rooftop solar, tells them about the financing options and also links to PM Surya Ghar portal for commissioning of rooftop solar projects. 

Arvind Semwal from Adani Solar told the audience that the huge population in the state and the rise in power demand are set to increase the adoption of solar power in UP. “With an expected rise in power demand, more people are likely to shift to renewable energy. The policies are also transitioning in UP. Earlier there were disconnect with discoms, the state renewable agencies, vendors and the consumers. Slowly this disconnect has also narrowed down. I expect in the next 2-4 years UP is set to see a boom in solar power adoption.”

Ram Anuj Verma from RAVC said that with a good population size, UP offers a good market for the solar module manufacturers and the whole solar industry. He however talked about working on the UP Energy Banking Policy to make it more lucrative for the industry. 

“Despite the potential UP offers, land acquisition is still a problem in UP because of lack of land for large projects. Only regions like Bundelkhand, Mirzapur and others offer land for large projects but challenges of adequate transmission network exist. With more focus on the sector now, we expect better days for the state soon,” he added.