Chandigarh, October 19
Renewable Energy and Social Justice Minister Punjab, Dr. Rajkumar Verka has emphasized to set up biomass projects to tackle the problem of Paddy straw.
In a statement issued here today, Dr. Verka said that maximum utilization of renewable energy needed to meet the growing demand for electricity and the growing scarcity of natural resources like water, coal etc. He said that the Punjab government has taken many steps regarding the solar energy. He said that 1700.77 MW capacity renewable energy projects have been set up in the state till date and other projects with a capacity of 184.12 MW are being set up. So far 815.5 MW ground mounted solar power projects, 136.1 MW rooftop and 20 MW on canals top solar power projects had been set up.
According to Dr. Verka, 729.17 MW solar power projects alone have been set up and 58.75 MW projects are in pipeline. Renewable energy projects, including 458.07 MW biomass co-generation power projects and 97.5 MW biomass power projects had been made operational. Total 23 Bio CNG Projects are under construction. These will produce a total of 260 tones of compressed biogas (CBG). The largest CBG project in Asia with a capacity of 33.23 tones of CBG per day is being set up in Lehragaga tehsil and will be operational in December, 2021. In addition, bio-ethanol project is under construction at Talwandi Sabo in Bathinda district which would start by February, 2023 and would consume 500 tons of paddy straw per day.
Appealing to the people of the state to adopt solar energy, Dr. Verka suggested them to install solar power plants in their homes. He said that this will not only provide relief to the people from costly electricity but also save resources like coal.
