The Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation (RRECL) has allotted 722 MW to 623 farmers under the Centre’s PM Kusum Scheme aimed at generating income for farmers from their unfertile or semi-barren land.
Rajasthan is the first state in the country to conduct a successful bidding and allot more capacity than the target given by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
Under the scheme, farmers can set up plants with capacity ranging from 0.5 to two MW and the power will be bought by discoms at Rs 3.14 per unit which is much higher than the rates discovered through auctions.
As per the scheme, the farmers who do not have money to invest can also lease out the land to private developers and receive an annual income.
Under the scheme, MNRE gives subsidy of 40 paise per unit to the government, effectively bringing down rates for discoms to Rs 2.74 per unit.
Besides the benefit from rates, this also promotes decentralised generation which will generate employment at village level. Similarly, it allows the MSMEs in the sector to develop projects as they often fail to qualify for bigger tenders due to higher bidding standards.
While the Centre had approved 325 MW under the scheme, the state government had requested for additional capacity.
The government does not need to invest heavily on infrastructure for decentralised power plants as the existing sub-stations can be used for feeding and distribution in the same area.
RRECL has set a target of 2,600 MW in the next three years. The tenders for next 1,878 MW will soon be issued and applications will be invited.
