Gujarat is one of the most awaited cities that have been awarded with the prestigious IGBC’s Platinum Award. The Dholera Special Investment Region [SIR] in Gujarat is well planned to be a stupendous, clean and green place to develop a healthy environment with minimum carbon emissions. In line with the central government’s ambitious target of generating 175 gigawatt power from renewable energy sources by 2022, Gujarat is set in motion for establishing the world’s largest solar park of 5000 MV in Dholera, around 80kms from Ahmedabad.
The State government has allotted 11,000 hectares of land for this project which will come up in DSIR along the Gulf of Khambhat.The land allotted for this plant will be of CRZ type 1[B]which is suitable for generating renewable energy. Hence there will be no cost incurred on purchasing special land. The State has also proposed a 200MV wind park in the same place. Initial studies have shown tremendous potential for generating solar power in Dholera.
The Dholera Solar Plant will be developed on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model and involve spending to the tune of Rs 25,000 crore. This will include disbursement on works related to fitting of 1.6 million solar PV panels, 5,000 central inverters and lying of approximately 25,000 kilometer of DC cables within the plant. However the cost is likely going to increase due to the proximity to sea and saline conditions in dholera region. Since it is partly earth and partly water, the foundation and infrastructure has to be of high quality. Cleaning has to be done on a regular basis as it is very close to the city. All this will again add to the cost.
The Dholera Solar Plant will create employment for approximately 20,000 people .The local residents and the supply chain involved in manufacturing units in areas surrounding Dholera SIR will be benefited through this project. Solar panel manufacturers, heavy engineering companies and other businesses have already started investigating about the probability to set up their units in Dholera.
The organizations involved in implementing the project include the Gujarat Power Corporation Limited [GPCL], Gujarat Urja Nigam Limited [GUVN] and Gujarat Electric Transmission Corporation [GETCO] with the Solar Energy Corporation Limited [SECI] and the Central Transmission Unit [CTU].
The Managing Director, Dholera Industrial City Development limited, Government of Gujarat shared more information on Dholera Solar Plant and stated that the first stage of 1000MV may unfold in next two years while the 5000MV park will come up in a period of 5 years.
The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) granted a license to Torrent Power Limited (TPL) to supply electricity to the DSIR. The state power regulator accorded TPL a license to carryout distribution and retail supply of electricity in the Dholera SIR area for 25 years. With the receipt of the license, TPL will be able to supply power to new industrial, commercial and residential units that will come up in DSIR.
Once the Dholera project is completed, it will be a worthy place to live in, by the same time protecting the environment and the natural resources, lowering harmful discharge and optimizing utilization of resources. A series of projects are being implemented in Dholera such as Ahmedabad-Dholera Express Highway, Dholera Airport, Administration and Business Centre at Dholera [ABCD] and many more.