66 solar power plants to be set up: Minister

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 7

To reduce reliance on fossil fuels, cut annual power subsidy bill and make Punjab a leading state in clean energy production, the state government was planning to set up 66 solar power plants (4 MW each), said Aman Arora, Minister of New and Renewable Energy Sources, Punjab.

He, along with Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO, chaired a high-level meeting with senior officials from the departments of New & Renewable Energy Sources, Power and Punjab Development Commission to deliberate on strategies for the ambitious project. Arora said the project was expected to generate around 390 million units (MU) of electricity annually. By implementing feeder-level solarisation, it was expected to result in annual savings of around Rs 136 crore, he added.

It would attract around Rs 1,056-crore investment in the state, paving the way for the creation of job opportunities, he said.