The State government, that has for long been talking about establishing a 500 MW solar park on the lines of Gujarat, has finally zeroed in on Munnur village in Bijapur district, where the Karnataka Renewable Development Ltd will acquire 5,000 hectares. “We have taken up several surveys, the location is ideal for a solar park as the area get over 300 days of sunshine. We will be acquiring 5,000 hectares for the purpose,” said KREDL managing director N.S. Prasanna Kumar.
The project, with a solar capacity of 500 MW, will have plug-and-use facility, where private players can set up their solar panels. It will also have a facility for evacuating power into the grid. “Solar parks will, in the first place, take away the need for solar power developers to look for a place. We will provide them the space, including the facility to evacuate power into the local grid,” Mr Kumar added. For the project, the KREDL is looking at an investment of about Rs 200 to 350 crore. Taking a cue from Gujarat, Karnataka has decided to take up project development in a phased manner.
“We are acquiring about 5,000 hectares which will be developed in a phased manner. As the investors come in, we will make the land available to them,” he added. The challenge before the KREDL is scarcity of land. According to sources, even as the KREDL expressed interest to set up a solar park over 5,000 hectares, it may have to face several challenges, especially in acquisition. It is learned that anticipating this, the KREDL will be setting up a high level empowered committee that will be responsible for looking into land issues. KREDL is expected to start the work by October and will require 18 months to commission the project.