Not yet commissioned, Kolar solar power plant up and running
14 Jun 2010
Although the country's biggest grid-connected solar power plant at Yelesandra village in Bangarpet taluk of Kolar district of Karnataka will be commissioned only on 17 June, it is already up and running.
Union Minister for new and renewable energy Farooq Abdullah will dedicate this state-of-the-art power plant with a capacity to generate 3 MW. The plant has been set up by the Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd (KPCL) under the national Arunodaya project to tap solar energy.
The dedication ceremony is only a formality as the plant has commenced power generation and has been integrated with the state power grid.
Its uniqueness is that the power being generated is being supplied to farmers to pump groundwater for crops in the surrounding arid and backward villages, which have no irrigation.
Nearly 600 irrigation pump-sets, with a capacity of 10 HP each, in 20 villages near this plant, are now getting uninterrupted three-phase power supply for six hours from 10.30 am. Earlier, these pump-sets were getting power mostly at night.
According to a report in The Hindu, though power is generated from 6 am to 6 pm, the plant works to its full potential for only six hours from 10 am.
.webp)
