Govt to install one lakh solar pumps across country: Goyal

New Delhi: The government plans to install one lakh solar pumps for irrigation and drinking water purposes in the country, Parliament was informed today.

"The Government has proposed a programme for installation of one lakh solar pumps for irrigation and drinking water purposes across the country," Minister of State for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

He said 11,626 solar pumps have already been installed in the various parts of the country till March 31, 2014.

He said that a total of Rs 14,788.45 lakh have been sanctioned for solar pumps under ‘Off grid and Decentralized Solar Applications’ scheme of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission to 12 states.

Replying to another question, he said that the government has launched a scheme under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission to encourage installation of Solar Water Heaters.

“The tariff of solar power as fixed by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) is Rs 7.72 per KWh for PV based power plants and Rs 11.88 per KWh for solar thermal based power plants,” the minister said in another reply.

Replying to another question, he said that his ministry is promoting setting up of Biogas plants in all the States and Union Territories of the country. However he said that the government has no proposal to set up any Bio-fuel plant.

He further added that over 4.75 million family type biogas plants and about 350 large plants for power generation based on cattle dung and other wastes and residues installed in the country are estimated to be generating over 51 lakh cubic meter biogas per day, he said.

On a question on Bio Compressed Natural Gas, the minister informed the House that all the 12 projects on production of Bio-CNG from biogas set up under the programmes of his Ministry are operational.

“The total production of Bio-CNG from the 12 projects set up so far is estimated to be about 17,200 kg/day,“he said adding that these projects are set up in Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab and Rajasthan.

PTI