India’s largest 34 MW solar plant was inaugurated at Panjawa village in the Lambi assembly segment of Muktsar district recently. The plant will be able to supply power to more than 170 villages. Besides, barren land has come into use and the plant provides employment to a large number of people. Punjab will now be generating nearly 60 MW through solar plants.
At a time when the state is facing an acute shortage of coal, resulting in long periods of power cuts, this is excellent news. In the coming years, the state will need more power plants to generate adequate electricity. However, there is not enough coal to run them. Hence, solar power is the best option. The Earth gets enough sunlight to provide energy to the entire world for a year. Sadly, harnessing that power directly, through solar power, has not taken off in the way it should have in the past few years.
I am glad that Punjab has finally taken this giant leap towards realising its dream of becoming a solar state. Research has shown that over 40% of all new energy generation in the world between now and 2030 will be solar. In fact, a small-scale solar revolution will take place over the next 16 years. In countries like India, solar power will match coal and gas prices by 2020. Unlike coal plants, which emit harmful carbon dioxide, solar power is environment-friendly and also cost-effective. As production is going up, panel costs are plummeting – down 80% since 2008. This puts solar on the edge of beating coal and gas on price.
Punjab is aiming at generating 250MW power from solar projects by 2014 end and by 2015-end, the state is expected to generate around 2,000MW. There is also an approval to set up a 1,000MW solar park in the state and land identification for that project has already been done. The state is also exploring the possibility of setting up solar power clusters to energise agricultural pumps. I hope these projects are successfully implemented and Punjab fulfils its goal of becoming a solar power-driven state.