MP draws up plan to generate 800 MW power by '13

The Madhya Pradesh government has drawn an ambitious plan to generate 800 MW of power through solar, wind and biomass by 2013, to bridge the widening gap between the demand and supply of electricity in the state.“We have embarked on a plan to generate 200 MW of power through solar energy, 400 MW from wind energy and 200 MW from Biomass by the year 2013,” Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam (MPUVN) Managing Director, Mr Neeraj Mandloi said.“At present, we are generating 167 MW from Wind Energy and 19 MW from Biomass,” Mr Mandloi said on Saturday.

Under the solar cities development plan of the Government of India’s New and Renewable Energy Department, the state government has urged the Centre to include Bhopal, Jabalpur and Rewa also in the list of cities to be developed under the scheme, he said.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is implementing a programme on development of solar cities aimed at reducing demand for conventional energy by ten per cent through energy efficiency measures and harnessing renewable energy.In the 11th plan period, 60 cities are proposed to be developed as ‘Solar Cities’ including two model cities, Mr Mandloi said.The Centre is providing financial support upto Rs 50 lakh for each solar city to the respective state governments for preparation of a master plan, awareness generation and capacity building activities, according to department sources.