Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India]: The Director General of International Solar Alliance (ISA) Ajay Mathur has said that Madhya Pradesh has been a leader in solar energy and in the development of new models for solar enhancement.
Mathur made the remark while talking to media about the contribution of the state in solar energy in India. He arrived here in Madhya Pradesh on Friday to visit the Sanchi solar city, which the state planned to develop as net zero city.
Sanchi is a small town situated in Raisen district known for its religious and historic significance. Sanchi is known as a heritage town and Buddhist Monuments here is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
After his visit to Sanchi, Mathur said, “I was delighted to visit Sanchi. I visited a 3 megawatt solar facility there which will provide green electricity to the city. The point which I really like is this is a city where 100 percent of the electricity needs would be met by solar farms. There is the provision that it will produce as much electricity as is used during 24 hours.”
The second good thing about the Solar City Sanchi is that it focuses on people. While focusing on energy education, they have reached out 80 percent of the people there. It is extremely useful because they learn about the environmental benefits, the economic benefits, the social benefits and come out of having Solar. This has been delightful, he added.
Talking about the contribution of the state in solar energy in India, the ISA Director General said, “Madhya Pradesh has been a leader in solar energy. The first time that a large project became commercially viable was the Rewa project which has now become one of India’s most famous projects. Now, we are seeing a very different model, the Sanchi Solar City at a smaller scale. Madhya Pradesh has been the pioneer in the development of new models for solar enhancement whether the large sector aur small sector.”
When asked about has he ever seen any such place in India like Sanchi, Mathur said that the closest which he came across is not not actually a city, it is a village. Modhera village in Gujarat has solar panels which meet all its needs. But the scale is very different. Here at Sanchi, it is looking at a city and also looking at a rural area around it. It is a long term plan for making a difference and making it all great at zero carbon emission projects.
He also said, “As far as net zero is concerned I think to a very large extent that Sanchi city is very near being a net zero city. It produces the electricity that it needs during the day and night. The next step which I really liked is that it is looking at the rural region around it and how they can also become net zero as well.”
Speaking about the floating solar project, he says that floating solar is very important. It is important for two reasons, one is the amount of land that is available is fast depleting. The second is that by putting more and more effort on floating solar will reduce the prices.
These two things together can lead to a situation in which floating solar costs less than almost any other form of electricity generation.
