Powerless state scraps 27 renewable energy projects

These projects could have helped bridge demandsupply mismatch developers accuse the government of apathy The government may be claiming that it is capable of solving the current power crisis plaguing the state soon but cancellation of 27 renewable energy projects which could have generated around 1000 MW allegedly because of babus apathy speaks volumes about the hollowness of such claims Out of 27 cancelled projects nine were wind energy projects which could have generated around 200 MW and helped improve the power scenario in the stateAlready crippled by continual power outages Karnataka had been looking at renewable sources to meet to the demandsupply mismatch The state generates around 9061MW while the demand is around 11000 MWAccording to the developers the projects were cancelled due to the governments lackadaisical attitude towards private projects and unceremonious delays in allocation of landDouble standardsThe government has drawn up an ambitious plan to add around 1000 MW through renewable sources to the capacity of 4000 MW every year as part of its Renewable Energy Policy Besides this the powerless state has also committed to give 200 MW to the Centre under Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission by 201516Of the cancelled projects nine were of wind energy having an inclusive capacity of 200 MW while 18 were of solar energy which could have generated 200 MW in allThe wind energy projects were cancelled as not even a single project was able to get clearance from the forest department Other projects were cancelled because of babus apathy which speaks volumes about the hollowness of the governments claims to bridge the demandsupply mismatch in the stateu00a0Besides the allocation issues have become so problematic in Karnataka that new developers do not want to invest here anymore They prefer going to Tamil Naidu or Andhra Pradesh said a renewable energy developerKarnataka that once ranked third in the wind energy sector has now fallen two notches and developers fear it will further deteriorate It takes years to get clearance for a project in Karnataka prompting promoters to simply abandon their projects he addedThe solar projects on the other hand were recommended for approval under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission JNNSM Scheme The developers alleged that the private developers were simply ignored while government projects got clearances immediatelyIn all only four projects were given approval and all of them are government projects While the remaining 18 projects were rejected based on the recommendations of the Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited KREDL he addedAccording to experts till the time the government introduces measures to speed implementation of projects the grim power scenario in the state is unlikely to improveu00a0While the government wants to add 1000 MW every year in reality only 200 to 300 MW is being added If it continues this way the power crisis in the state will not be solved anytime soon added Narayana Prasad Member Renewable Energy AssociationOther sideThe Renewable energy department officials contested the claims saying everything is on track They however admitted that the capacity addition might get affected These projects were cancelled because they couldnt complete the departmental formalities However we are looking at ways to step up the generation of renewable energy In the solar sector we already have plans for adding 80 MW for which we already have floated tenders said N S Prasanna Kumar Managing Director KREDL1939MWThe power shortfall in the state The state generates around 9061 MW as against the demand of 11000 MW