The RPO target of the State for 2022-23 is 11.5 pc which means 11.5 pc of electricity consumed in Odisha has to be renewable energy in the current fiscal.
BHUBANESWAR : With Odisha set to draft its new Renewable Energy (RE) policy for 2022-30, the International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology (iFOREST) on Tuesday initiated a dialogue on preparing the roadmap with a focus on the generation of green energy and jobs.
The present RE policy introduced in 2016 will lapse by the end of this year. Though the present policy had set a modest target of installing 2,750 MW of RE capacity by 2022, only 617 MW was installed, which is less than 25 per cent (pc) of the target, by end of March.
Largely reliant on coal to meet its energy requirement, Odisha has been importing renewable energy, like solar and wind power, from other states to meet its Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) set under Central government guidance.
The RPO target of the State for 2022-23 is 11.5 pc which means 11.5 pc of electricity consumed in Odisha has to be renewable energy in the current fiscal. The target will increase to 43.33 pc by 2029-30.
President and CEO of iFOREST Chandra Bhushan said, “There is a general misconception that Odisha doesn’t have RE potential. An analysis shows that the State has large RE potential that needs an innovative policy to unlock. The new RE policy should be 30 GW renewable energy by 2030.”
So far, the RE sector has not grown in the State due to a number of institutional and commercial challenges, which needs to be addressed through innovative land policy, stronger incentives and procurement techniques.
“Odisha should involve farmers and landowners in RE development. Generation of green energy should be encouraged on water bodies and wastelands like abandoned mines besides rooftop solar and distributed renewable energy to generate income and jobs,” said Programme Lead (Energy and Climate Change), iFOREST Mandvi Singh.
Former Information Commissioner and Co-Founder CYSD Jagdananda, Managing Director of OHPC Ltd Amresh Kumar, Engineer in Chief (Electrical) Suresh Chandra Maharana, Chief Executive Officer of Tata Power Central Shenbagam Manthiram also spoke.
Source: PTI
