Assam's solar vision: 35 districts to be solar-powered, plans underway
After finalisation of the villages by the District Level Committee (DLC), the detailed project report (DPR) for transitioning each village to a solar-powered one will be prepared by the Assam Energy Development Agency with the help of APDCL.
A list of villages proposed by the power minister of the state in consultation with the MLAS for inclusion in the Model Solar Village component under the PM Surya Ghar Scheme has also been prepared by APDCL.
After finalisation of the villages by the District Level Committee (DLC), the detailed project report (DPR) for transitioning each village to a solar-powered one will be prepared by the Assam Energy Development Agency with the help of APDCL.
Each model solar village will be eligible for a grant of Rs 1 crore as central financial assistance, official sources said. The sources said that the selection of the village to be considered as a model solar village will be undertaken in the 'challenge' mode. Under this mode, villages in a district will be mobilised for installing distributed solar installations, especially under PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana and other government schemes such as PM-KUSUM.
After the challenge period is over, the villages will be assessed on the total distributed renewable energy (RE) capacity installed within the revenue border of the village, and the village with the highest capacity (cumulative) within the village boundary will be chosen as the model solar village for that district.
The DLC can converge funds from other sources, such as corporate social responsibility, departmental funds, district-level funds, etc., to maximise RE deployment in these villages.
Once the model solar village has been selected, the State Renewable Energy Development Agency will act as the Model Solar Village Implementing Agency (MSVIA). The MSVIA will develop a DPR for transitioning the village to a solar-powered one.
Community Solar Plant (with or without battery storage), solar-powered equipment for livelihood generation by SHG groups, rooftop solar plants on government buildings, solar-based public lighting, solar agri-PV pump, and other solar-powered RE technologies will be included in the DPR.
Meanwhile, for the solarisation of all government offices, departments have been asked to prepare DPRS for the implementation of rooftop solar projects. APDCL will assist in preparation of the estimates, and the proposals will be submitted by the departments under their budget provisions for execution of the rooftop solar works.
By-
Rituraj Borthakur
