West Bengal Readies For ‘Sun-Raise’, To Install Solar Power Plant On Water By 2019

West Bengal’s Minister of State for Power and Non-Renewable Energy, Sobhandev Chatterjee, has said that his government will be commissioning a floating solar power plant next year. The plants with capacities of 5MW and 100 MW electricity generation will be constructed respectively at Sagardighi and Mukumanipur, reported Economic Times.

Chatterjee was attending a seminar organised by MCCI and WBSEB Officers Association. He told the reporters on the sidelines of the seminar that a Detailed Project Report (DPR) has already been prepared.

He said that Sagardighi plant will cost Rs 5 crore and with the increase in power generating capacity, the cost of installation will come down.

Pointing towards the rise in electricity demand of industries, which have grown by 27.22 per cent, he said, “We are prepared to meet the demand of heavy industries as and when required. We are, at present, surplus in power and exporting to other states".

When asked about the Accumulated Technical and Commercial (ATC) losses of the state-owned plants, the Minister said that ATC was 28 per cent at the moment. The Chief Minister has set a target of 11 per cent, the minister told reporters.

When asked about old coal-based power plants that the government was trying to upgrade in its talks with foreign companies, he said the aim was to check carbon emissions and to keep the plant operational for another 25 years.