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Odisha, India Mulls New Renewable Energy Policy


Rough assessments put state’s gross renewable energy potential at 53,820 Mw.

To tap the opportunity in the non-conventional sources of energy, the Odisha government plans to come out with a new policy for development of the sector in the state.

“Instead of formulating separate policies for different sources of renewable energy, the state government is coming out with one combined policy named as Odisha Renewable Policy-2015,” said an official of the Green Energy Development Corporation Limited (Gedcol), the nodal agency appointed by the state government to augment generation of energy from non-conventional sources. “We will soon seek suggestions and comments on the draft policy,” added the official.

Odisha, by virtue of its geological position, has potential for generation of power from all type of renewable sources like solar, wind, biomass, hydro, etc. Rough assessments put state’s gross renewable energy potential at 53,820 Mw.

“With detailed resource assessment studies and technological advancements, the state’s renewable energy potential is expected to increase further,” read the draft solar policy, which is likely to be replaced by the new Renewable Energy Policy.

Odisha, due to its locational advantage, receives good amount of sunshine for over 300 days a year. As per solar radiation map of India, the daily average solar radiation incident on Odisha ranges between 5.4 to 5.6 Kwh per sqm. The district wise solar radiation data, calculated over the mid coordinates of each district on the basis of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) estimates, shows the daily average solar radiation of around five kWh per sqm for almost all the districts. The feasible potential for power generation using solar photovoltaic and the solar thermal technologies are pegged at 80,00 Mw and 2,000 Mw respectively.

The state has been encouraging private developers to set up renewable energy plants in solar, biomass, small hydro and co-generation sectors. Presently, 18 Mw solar power, 20 Mw biomass and 5 Mw small hydro-electric power projects are in operation in the state.

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