West Bengal Thermal Power Plant To Produce Solar From Multiple Sources

West Bengal Thermal Power Plant To Produce Solar From Multiple Sources

West Bengal-based Sagardighi Thermal Power Plant (TPP) is now all set to produce solar power from different sources to send it to the local grid. The TPP situated at Murshidabad has established a 10 MW grid-connected ground-mounted solar plant and a 5 MW grid-connected floating solar plant for the same.

The power plant has now received approvals from the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission (WBERC) too to do the same. It has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL) and the West Bengal Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) for the exporter of all solar power produced here.

As per the plan the Sagardighi TPP has signed the contract for 25 years at a regulated price to be determined by the WBERC. This project was funded by the state government through grants. The WBERC said that as the project is fully government-funded, the cost of power would be much less, comprising primarily the expenses towards operations and maintenance activities. This is likely to be beneficial to the end consumers as well as the WBSEDCL to meet its Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO). 

The West Bengal Power Regulator has directed the WBPDCL to also submit a petition for the determination of the tariff of the 15 MW solar PV plant immediately after the issuance of the order. The eastern state of West Bengal till now have not been able to harness much of the renewable energy, unlike other renewable-rich states. 

Renewable deficit state 

As per the latest data from the CEA, West Bengal has a higher installed capacity of coal-powered thermal power stations. The latest data said that the state has a total coal-fired thermal power capacity of 8683 MW. It also has a total capacity of 1396 MW. On the other hand, when it comes to renewables, the state has only 636 MW of installed capacity.

The Ministry of Power has been pushing the thermal power stations to go green and adopt to production of solar power on their campuses too. The ministry last year had also announced Renewable Generation Obligations (RGO) where the thermal power producers were obligated to generate a portion of their power through renewable sources.