<p>Bengaluru: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/karnataka">Karnataka</a> is set to call tenders to set up solar-cum-wind power plants totalling close to 19,000 MW with common battery storage and transmission lines as part of an ambitious plan that aims to tap unexploited energy potential in the state. </p>.<p>Senior officials from the energy department confirmed to DH that they plan to achieve this feat by 2030. </p>.<p>Speaking to DH, Pankaj Kumar Pandey, Managing Director, Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL), said projects will focus on harnessing both solar and wind power and will integrate them with either battery storage systems or pumped storage systems.</p>.<p>“Solar energy generation is high in the morning and wind energy generation is usually high during the evenings. Hence, we have opted to go for a hybrid model and use common transmission lines. This will be integrated with storage systems as well,” he said. </p>.<p>Owing to a lack of storage systems, Karnataka, sometimes, faces a shortage of power during peak hours and surplus power generation during non-peak hours. These new RE projects will not only improve the power generation capacity of the state but will also help store power to be used during peak hours. </p>.<p>Of the 19,000 MW, close to 15,000 MW has been planned in the districts of north Karnataka, particularly in Belagavi, Koppal, Raichur, Chitradurga, Gadag, and Haveri.</p>.70% of Karnataka population is OBC, says caste census.<p>The department has identified land to set up these projects in all potential districts; in many of them, negotiations with farmers have also been completed. A few projects are also being taken up under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.</p>.<p>In 2021, the Energy Department had roped in the National Institute of Wind Energy, Chennai, to assess the wind power potential of each taluk. The report indicated that the state has a potential to generate 1.24 lakh MW of wind power. But Karnataka has commissioned a measly 1,806 MW of wind energy projects. </p>.<p>A separate study by the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), Gurugram, pegged the state's solar power generation potential at 25,000 MW. At present, close to 8,650 MW of solar energy projects have been commissioned in the state. </p>.<p>When asked about this, K P Rudrappaiah, Managing Director of Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL), said that implementation of such projects usually takes a long time.</p>.<p>“We need to plan the projects, obtain a host of permissions and such processes take time,” he said.</p>.<p>However, though the state has a long way to go in meeting its full potential, Karnataka is among the top five states in the country in generation of renewable energy.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/karnataka">Karnataka</a> is set to call tenders to set up solar-cum-wind power plants totalling close to 19,000 MW with common battery storage and transmission lines as part of an ambitious plan that aims to tap unexploited energy potential in the state. </p>.<p>Senior officials from the energy department confirmed to DH that they plan to achieve this feat by 2030. </p>.<p>Speaking to DH, Pankaj Kumar Pandey, Managing Director, Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL), said projects will focus on harnessing both solar and wind power and will integrate them with either battery storage systems or pumped storage systems.</p>.<p>“Solar energy generation is high in the morning and wind energy generation is usually high during the evenings. Hence, we have opted to go for a hybrid model and use common transmission lines. This will be integrated with storage systems as well,” he said. </p>.<p>Owing to a lack of storage systems, Karnataka, sometimes, faces a shortage of power during peak hours and surplus power generation during non-peak hours. These new RE projects will not only improve the power generation capacity of the state but will also help store power to be used during peak hours. </p>.<p>Of the 19,000 MW, close to 15,000 MW has been planned in the districts of north Karnataka, particularly in Belagavi, Koppal, Raichur, Chitradurga, Gadag, and Haveri.</p>.70% of Karnataka population is OBC, says caste census.<p>The department has identified land to set up these projects in all potential districts; in many of them, negotiations with farmers have also been completed. A few projects are also being taken up under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.</p>.<p>In 2021, the Energy Department had roped in the National Institute of Wind Energy, Chennai, to assess the wind power potential of each taluk. The report indicated that the state has a potential to generate 1.24 lakh MW of wind power. But Karnataka has commissioned a measly 1,806 MW of wind energy projects. </p>.<p>A separate study by the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), Gurugram, pegged the state's solar power generation potential at 25,000 MW. At present, close to 8,650 MW of solar energy projects have been commissioned in the state. </p>.<p>When asked about this, K P Rudrappaiah, Managing Director of Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL), said that implementation of such projects usually takes a long time.</p>.<p>“We need to plan the projects, obtain a host of permissions and such processes take time,” he said.</p>.<p>However, though the state has a long way to go in meeting its full potential, Karnataka is among the top five states in the country in generation of renewable energy.</p>