State finalising tender for1,000 MW
HYDERABAD, SEPTEMBER 3

Telangana is on course to achieving 5 Giga Watts (GW) of renewable energy capacity by next year, and the State plans to come out with a tender for setting up of about 1,000 MW (1 GW) of solar power generation capacity.

The State, which was carved out of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, now has a total installed capacity of about 3,800 MW, which includes grid-connected and standalone rooftop solar units, and it has the second highest solar capacity in the country, after Karnataka.

Ajay Mishra, Special Chief Secretary, Energy, Telangana, said the State government is in the process of finalising a tender for about 1,000 MW, and expects to reach the targeted 5 GW capacity by next year. This will include some rooftop solar units and some standalone installations.

Addressing gaps

The State has adopted decentralised distributed solar installation projects, as opposed to the solar park model. In the park model, huge capacity comes up at a single location, making its management relatively tougher and needing additional evacuation infrastructure.

Barring one project, where more than 100 MW of solar capacity is located, most projects have been awarded and installed on a de-centralised distributed model. The State had encouraged projects across 180 locations, instead of concentration at one location as in solar parks. This was based on demand-supply gaps in various parts of the State, and aimed at supporting agricultural loads.

About 250-300 MW will come up in the state-owned Singareni Collieries Company Ltd, in addition to the State government proposals.

“By opting for a distributed solar installation model, the State had managed to save about Rs. 450 crore, which would have otherwise been required to strengthen the transmission and distribution network,” Mishra said.

While some wind developers have come forward to set up generation units with highly efficient turbines in the State known for low wind speeds, Telangana has not pushed ahead with their proposals.

Policy tweak

The State also plans to tweak its solar power policy as it is keen that the new projects that are tendered out come up at attractive prices, factoring the drop in the cost of solar modules and related equipment.

The tenders and the policy would have come up earlier but for the elections. They It may be announced any time now.