Shimla, Dec. 22 -- Having set a goal for the state to become India's first "Green Energy State" through major initiatives like promoting solar power, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said he was aiming at meeting 90 per cent of the state's energy demand through renewable energy sources.
Himachal Pradesh is already fully reliant on the hydropower sector and also earns considerable revenue from the sale of energy to the grid, and some states are facing power shortages.
At present, the annual energy consumption of the State is nearly 13,000 million units.
Giving an outline here on the solar sector, Sukhu said on Monday that the state has witnessed a massive shift towards harnessing solar energy due to the Green initiatives of the state government and has set a target to set up 500 MW of solar power projects within the next two years.
Under the' Green Panchayat Programme', Gram Panchayats have been placed at the centre of this initiative under which 500 kW
ground-mounted solar power projects will be installed in all Panchayats across the State, he said.
In the first phase, approval has been granted for setting up 500 kW solar power plants in 24 Gram Panchayats, and work has already commenced in 16 such Panchayats.
Under this programme, a total solar power generation target of 150 MW has been set.
"Out of the total revenue generated from electricity produced by these projects, 20 percent would be utilised by the state government to assist orphan children and widows of the respective Gram Panchayats" said Sukhu.
Besides this, the Chief Minister stated that the Pekhubela Solar Power Project in Una district commenced commercial operations on April 15, 2024. So far, it has generated 79.03 million units of net electricity and earned revenue amounting to Rs 22.91 crore.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.