More Solar Power to Kerala – Soura Program
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September 10, 2019The southern state of Kerala is making rapid strides towards increasing its solar power capacity. Though the state receives high solar radiation all through the year, it produces just one-third of its own power requirement. The state is now eyeing to install 200 MW of solar rooftop system during 2019-2020 to meet its RPO obligation under Phase-I of the Soura program. Kerala will soon start the tendering process for the rooftop solar projects under the Soura program. The state will float tenders under three different models:
i) Solar projects will be installed by KSEB, but land and rooftop of willing consumers will be used. About 10% of the power generation will be passed on to the consumer, for his personal use, as the lease rent for his/ her premise. Balance energy will be fed to the grid for the next 25 years.
ii) KSEB will install rooftop or ground-mounted project in consumer premises, but all of the energy will be sold to the consumer, at a fixed tariff, and through a PPA, for the next 25 years.
iii) Under the third model, KSEB will do the installation for the consumer with the extra energy, after being used by the consumer, being sold to KSEB’s grid and netted off as per net metering laws.
It is proposed that upto 150 MW of projects will be developed under the RESCO model (renewable energy service company) with an estimated cost of Rs. 2.5 billion and 50 MW will be developed under EPC mode. The scheme has received a solid response so far. More than 270,000 consumers have registered for the Soura Program since July 2018. The registrations are now closed. About 70,000 rooftops are selected for solar installations of 400 MW in total. About 1,000 MW of solar capacity was added to the existing capacity of the program, recently. Out of the 1,000 MW, 500 MW will be implemented through rooftop solar, 200 MW of ground-mounted solar, 100 MW of floating solar, 150 MW of solar park, and 50 MW of canal top solar projects. The projects will be implemented under the Urja State Kerala Mission.