Uttar Pradesh's Solar Drive: Bundelkhand Expressway To Shine As State’s First Solar Expressway

The Bundelkhand Expressway is set to become the first 'solar expressway' in Uttar Pradesh.

This 296-km-long stretch will have solar panels installed on both sides, making it an innovative and sustainable infrastructure project.

The solar expressway initiative is part of the Uttar Pradesh government's Solar Energy Policy 2022.

The policy aims to achieve a target of 22,000 mw of solar power projects by 2026-27, showcasing the state's commitment to renewable energy.

To move forward with this project, Manoj Kumar Singh, CEO of UPEIDA, has instructed the seeking of expression of interest from private companies, reports Hindustan Times.

These companies will be invited to install solar panels on both sides of the Bundelkhand Expressway, following the PPP (public-private partnership) model.

Selected applicants will have the opportunity to present their plans for executing the solar expressway project.

Solar panels will be installed in the vacant space between the main carriageway and service lane on the entire stretch of the expressway. This space also acts as a barrier between the expressway and agricultural land, according to Singh.

The state of Uttar Pradesh, ranked as the fourth largest in the nation, is actively engaged in the construction of an expansive system of expressways aimed at interconnecting the entire state.

The network presently includes approximately 1,200 km of operational expressways, with an additional 3,600 km of expressways currently in the process of being built. (Read more on this)

The 296-km-long Bundelkhand Expressway links the arid and less developed Bundelkhand region of the state with the Agra-Lucknow Expressway near Etawah.

The project is also significant as the government has ambitious plans to boost the economic activity of the Bundelkhand region with this expressway project. 

As part of this endeavour, the government aims to establish industrial hubs alongside the expressway.  

In the first phase of industrialisation, the UPEIDA has received approval from the Yogi government to develop industrial clusters in the Jalaun and Banda areas of the Bundelkhand expressway.

Approximately 10 industrial sectors have been chosen, and land will be allocated in these stretches of the expressway for their development.

Industries that are expected to emerge include electrical and electronics, automobile and heavy engineering, engineering, food and agriculture, plant and organic material processing, textile and apparel, medical supplies and allied units, building material and allied units, logistics, packaging, warehousing, and cold storage, among others.