Assam's biggest solar power project 70-MW Amguri solar park to be operational

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Assam's biggest solar power project, the Rs 300-crore 70-MW Amguri solar park project, is all set to be partially commissioned on May 31 by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The project is being executed by M/s Jackson Power Private Limited as Solar Power Developer (SPD), with the Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGCL) acting as solar power park developer (SPPD).

Officials said that the APGCL has leased out the project site and the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) will procure power from M/s Jackson Power Private Limited under a power purchase agreement (PPA).

The officials further informed that at present only 50 MW capacity of the project could be commissioned due to a land dispute over a section of the 340-acre plot of land. The remaining 20 MW will be commissioned after another two months or so. Around 40 MW of power is being generated now during the trial runs, they said.

The foundation of the project was laid by the then Chief Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal on February 19, 2019. The target date of commissioning of the project was December 2021.

The six operational power plants in the State under the APGCL are the 64.5-MW Namrup Thermal Power Station, the 98.4-MW Namrup Replacement Power Project Phase-I, the 97.2-MW Lakwa Thermal Power Station, the 70-MW Lakwa Replacement Power Project, the 100-MW Karbi Langpi Hydroelectric Project and the 13.5-MW Myntriang Small Hydro-Electric Project Stage-I and Stage-II.

However, although these projects have a projected capacity of 443.2 MW, they are producing only 230 MW of power at present.

According to APGCL sources, the daily power demand in Assam in peak hours is 1,874 MW and 1,283 MW in off-peak hours. Since APGCL produces only around 230 MW of power daily, the APDCL (Assam Power Distribution Company Limited) meets the remaining demand from other sources.

Keeping this shortfall in view, the APGCL has fixed a target of generating 5,000 MW of power by 2030.

The Amguri project has a long history. Way back in 1990, the then Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta had laid the foundation of a 360-MW gas-based thermo-electricity project on a 340-acre plot of land at Japisajia village in Amguri. The capacity of the project was subsequently reduced to 100 MW because the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas expressed its inability to supply sufficient gas to fuel the project. The project remained stagnant after that until it was decided to convert the project into a 70-MW solar power project.

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