NewzVille Desk
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that Maharashtra has scripted a major success story by implementing Asia’s largest decentralised solar energy programme and will generate 16 gigawatts of solar power by the end of this year.
Speaking at the “Scaling Solar Energy Where It Matters” session organised by the International Solar Alliance at the India Pavilion during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, he said that Maharashtra has transformed its energy sector in less than a decade.
He said that agricultural consumers earlier accounted for nearly 30 per cent of power usage and were supplied electricity at a heavy subsidy, creating a financial burden on the state and other consumers.
The Chief Minister said that to address this, Maharashtra shifted the entire agricultural power load to solar energy by launching Asia’s largest decentralised solar scheme.
He said that each agricultural feeder was solarised and a dedicated company was formed to supply power to farmers.
He informed that the project will generate 16 GW of power and is progressing rapidly, with about 500 MW being added every month.
He said that this has reduced the cost of supplying power to farmers from ₹8 to less than ₹3 per unit, thereby easing the burden on industrial and domestic consumers.
The Chief Minister said that the PM Surya Ghar Yojana is being effectively implemented in Maharashtra and that about 4 GW of rooftop solar capacity will be commissioned.
