Karnataka government signed MoU with THDC

110 MW hybrid capacity would be added from the Solar Energy Corporation of India as well

Government’s key focus is to ensure 7 hours of power supply to irrigation pump sets

Energy Minister of the State of Karnataka KJ George announced on November 21 that the Karnataka government has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC), a public sector power enterprise based in Uttarakhand. This is pertaining to the installation of close to 2500 MW solar, wind and pumped hydro projects across the state at the cost of Rs 15,000 crore. 

The government is also undertaking other initiatives to meet the growing power demand in the state. These include a collaboration with the Union Government in their Green Energy Corridor (GEC-3) proposal. 110 MW hybrid capacity would be added from the Solar Energy Corporation of India as well. A captive coal mine project in Godhna, Chhattisgarh will also be undertaken under a joint venture. 

The government’s key focus is to ensure 7 hours of power supply to irrigation pump sets and feeders. “The government has imposed Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003, on state generators selling outside the state to supply the ESCOMs to meet the increasing demand of irrigation pump set consumption. Under the PM-KUSUM scheme, 1,300 MW in the first phase and 1,200 MW in the second phase, feeder-level solar generation at the substation is planned. Bids for the 768 MW project have already been opened and will be awarded soon. The 2,000 MW pumped storage generation project proposed by Karnataka Power Corporation Limited at Sharavathi will be taken up shortly,’ George said in an interaction with the press.