India to build world's largest solar power plant in Rajasthan

New Delhi: The government will set up the world’s largest solar power project, having a total generation capacity of 4,000 MW, in Rajasthan. The ultra mega green solar power project, whose idea has been mooted by the Heavy Industries Ministry, would be set up close to Sambhar Lake and about 75 kilometres from the state capital Jaipur. [caption id=“attachment_1123549” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] “Total capacity of this project will be 4,000 MW and, therefore, this will be the largest solar based power project in the world,” an official release said today. The project would be spread across 23,000 acres area of Sambhar Salts Ltd, a subsidiary of central enterprise Hindustan Salts Ltd. Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Praful Patel said the first phase of the project – having 1,000 MW capacity – is likely to be commissioned by the end of 2016, according to the release. Once fully implemented, the project would generate 6,000 million units of electricity annually. The first phase would be implemented through a joint venture company, whose stakeholders would be Bharat Heavy Electricals, Solar Energy Corporation, Power Grid Corporation, SJVN, SSL and Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Ltd (REIL). “Based on the experience gained during implementation of the first phase of project, the remaining capacity would be implemented through a variety of models,” the release said. Being the first project of this scale anywhere in the world, this project is expected to set a trend for large scale solar power development, it added. India, which is a power deficit country, is working on ways to increase contribution from renewables, especially solar, to its total energy mix. The ambitious Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission aims to have about 20,000 MW of grid-connected solar power by 2022. PTI