Overview
Energy is a vital input for the progress of any country and for its economic and social development. It is one of the basic needs and a means to increase productivity, enhance employment opportunities and improve the quality of life of the people.
- Solar Energy
Uttarakhand is richly endowed with natural renewable resources for generating electricity. Uttarakhand has multiple micro-climatic zones. The hilly areas are close to ‘cold and sunny’ and ‘cold and cloudy’ climatic zones, while some locations like Dehradun lie under semi-moderate climate. In addition, the plains of the state like Haridwar, Roorkee, Kashipur and Rudrapur lies in the composite climatic zone. The entire state receives good amount of solar insolation, about 4.5–5.5 kWh/m2. The Government of Uttarakhand wants to promote the harnessing of solar energy in the state.
The Policy Endeavour's to create an enabling environment to attract public & private investments in generation of solar energy-based projects. The Uttarakhand Solar Energy Policy – 2013 aims to provide a comprehensive policy for promotion of solar energy in the state of Uttarakhand.
Type of Solar Projects under the Policy
Type I - Projects selected as per the competitive bidding process for selling power to Uttarakhand DISCOM for meeting their RPO Obligation as specified by UERC from time to time.
Type II - Projects set up on private land for captive use or sale of power to 3rd party within or outside the state or project setup on private land under Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) Mode.
Type III - Projects set up on Government land for captive use or sale of power to 3rd party within or outside the state or project setup on Government land under Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) Mode.
Type IV - Solar Power Projects established under Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission Programme of MNRE, Govt. of India.
- Biomass Energy
Uttarakhand is highly rich in availability of pine leaves as bio-mass. Out of the total forest area in the State, 16.36 percent (399329 Hectare) is covered by Chir Pine forests. As per the estimates over 15 Lakh MT Pine leaves is generated annually in Reserve and Van Panchayat forests (excluding wildlife area). Therefore, even if about 40 percent of the estimated quantity is taken as collectible quantity after making enough provisions for traditional uses; about 6 Lakh MT is available for industrial use. Apart from Pine Leaves, about 8 Lakh MT of other Biomass (Agricultural Crop Residues, Lantana, etc.) is also available for industrial purposes.
Based on above, the State has the potential of producing over 150 MW of power annually from the biomass. This untapped potential of generating power from bio-mass based projects of capacities up to 250 kW and the briquetting/bio-oil units of capacities up to 2000 MT per annum can help to meet not only the local power needs but also could be an effective means for livelihood and revenue generation.
Therefore, to promote biomass-based power projects in the State, it is essential to formulate a comprehensive policy which aims to accelerate growth of biomass-based power projects in Uttarakhand by providing a suitable environment for all the stakeholders.
