JOIN USSolar power projects announced at GIM 2012 yet to see light of day
Solar energy projects announced during the Global Investors’ Meet (GIM) in 2012 have remained non-starters. Of the 18 agreements signed for such projects at the meet, not one of them has materialised so far.
According to the government documents, companies such as Indyasem Semiconductors Pvt Ltd, Kiran Energy Solar Power Pvt Ltd, Green Infra, Synefra Engineering & Construction Ltd, Tarun Solar India Pvt Ltd, Welspun Renewables Energy Ltd, Lanco Solar Pvt Ltd, Azure Power India Pvt Ltd had entered into a pact with the State government, promising investments in the range of Rs 50 crore to Rs 5,500 crore.
A majority of them wanted to locate their projects in North Karnataka.The 18 firms together had promised to generate 2,323 MW of solar energy per year.
However, only eight have taken the process forward by submitting an application to the Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL). Together, these firms could generate around 800 MW to 1,000 MW of solar power.
There had been no response from the remaining 10 firms.
Even as these three-year-old memorandums of understadning (MoUs) are yet to be acted upon, the KREDL, on January 13 this year, entered into an agreement with SunEdison for a project which promises to generate 5,000 MW of renewable energy in the next five years.
According to the company, it would harness both solar and wind energy. There has been no word from the government on the extent of land required for the projects to be taken up by this firm.
Official sources say that though a company signs an MoU, it can bag a contract only if it comes through the bidding route whenever the government invites tenders. All the companies have to follow the norms set by the State’s Industrial Policy, the Karnataka Solar Policy and Karnataka Renewable Energy Policy for implementing their projects. In other words, officials say, an MoU does not entitle a company to get any priority from the government. It has no legal sanctity. Even banks do not attach importance to an MoU while sanctioning loan for a company.
Private firms
Asked why private firms sign MoUs, as they have done at the various GIMs, officials of the Energy department said politicians make them sign the documents mainly to give an impression that investments worth crores of rupees were coming to the State. “This is one of the major reasons why MoUs are not taken seriously,” officials said.
S Sampathraman, president of the Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said, “MoUs are preliminarily meant to take a project forward by a prospective investor. It is just a document.”