UP push to renewable energy: 3 solar parks commissioned, six more to follow soon

Lucknow: In response to increasing electricity consumption and rising prices, the state government was promoting solar energy as a sustainable alternative in Uttar Pradesh, a government spokesman said, adding the state was witnessing the development of several large-scale solar projects, including nine solar parks with a total capacity of 3,710 MW.

“So far, three parks of 435 MW capacity have been commissioned, with the remaining six parks set to follow soon as the bidding process progresses. The land allocation for all nine parks has been finalized, paving the way for their swift development,” he said .

Notably, the solar parks have been established in four cities of Bundelkhand (Jhansi, Lalitpur, Chitrakoot, and Jalaun), as well as in cities like Kanpur Nagar, Kanpur Dehat, Mirzapur and Prayagraj. The bidding process for the solar parks under construction in Bundelkhand, Kanpur Nagar, and Kanpur Dehat is currently ongoing.

The state has received significant investments specifically for the establishment of solar parks in the solar energy sector. Under this initiative, nine solar parks are being developed. Of these, solar parks with capacities of 365 MW and 65 MW, totalling 430 MW, have already been commissioned and production has begun.

Additionally, solar parks of 600 MW capacity in Jhansi and Lalitpur, 800 MW capacityin Chitrakoot, 1,200 MW capacity in Jalaun, 75 MW capacity in Kanpur Dehat and 35 MW capacity in Kanpur Nagar are under construction. The tendering process for these projects is ongoing.

“The state has set a target to generate 22,000 MW of electricity from solar energy. This includes the installation of 6,000 MW of solar rooftop plants on private and government buildings and the establishment of 14,000 MW of solar utility projects and solar parks. Similarly, under the PM-KUSUM Yojana, 16.17 MW of grid tube wells are being operated using solar energy,” the spokesman said.