Sahibabad -1st July 2020
When the whole world has been reeling under the Covid-19 crisis, Central Electronics Limited, a leader in Supply, Installation and commissioning of Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) has achieved another milestone by commissioning Ground Mounted Solar Power Plants with a cumulative capacity of 9MWp in the 1st quarter of financial year 2020-2021) for the Innovative project “Solar power for Agricultural Feeder”.
Aiming to provide regular power to farmers through agricultural feeders, the Maharashtra government has undertaken many 0.25 MW-10 MW capacity solar projects under the Mukhyamantri Saur Krushi Vahini Yojana . The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Corporation Ltd (MSEDCL) is the nodal agency for the project and EESL is the main contractor. The ground-mounted solar projects are being set up in notified areas.
Shri Bholanath Sarkar, Chairman and Managing Director of Central Electronics Limited lauded the efforts of CEL’s engineers and officers in achieving the commissioning of 9MWp Solar Power Plant during pandemic situation. He appreciated the trust and support given by EESL and said that the company is committed for achieving the target of 120MWp solar power plant installations in Maharashtra during this financial year. The company has already commissioned 38.5MWp Grid Tied Ground Mounted Solar Power Plants at 46 sites in Maharashtra and work is in progress at 10 sites with cumulative capacity of 10MWp during this difficult situation. These power plants are connected to dedicated Agricultural Feeders and the electricity generated is for the use of farmers.
Giving the details, Mr. Manoj Kumar Sharma, PRO told that the company has commissioned its largest grid connected ground mounted solar PV power plant at single location of capacity 3.24 MWp on 29th June 2020 at Ansarwada. CEL followed it by commissioning of another 2.8 MWp Solar Power Plant at Panchancholi in Latur district on 30th June 2020. The output of these solar power plants is fed to the MSEDCL substation of 33/11 KV at Ansarwada and Panchancholif respectively, at a distrance of 5kms. Apart from these, CEL has commissioned solar power plants of 1.1 MWp at Selu, and 1.8 MWp cummulative at Redani, Nimgaon Ketki and Dahitane taking the total installed and commissioned capacity during the Covid-19 lockdown period to 9MWp.
The power plants at Ansarwada and Panchancholif are special in the sense that the complete work i.e. starting from land development till power evacuation has been carried out by the CEL.
Mr. Manoj Sharma informed that the first solar energy plant under the Mukhyamantri Saur Krushi Vahini Yojana in Maharastra was commissioned at Wavi in Sinnar taluka and was linked to the state power distribution utility’s electricity grid on Sunday 16th September 2018. In these power plants, feeder separation allows supply of electricity to agricultural and non-agricultural consumers through dedicated feeders. The Maharashtra government’s solar agri feeder scheme allows the power produced to be supplied to the grid and used locally for agricultural purposes.
CEL’s expertise and commitment towards nation’s vision for solar power has lead to timely completion of projects in remote locations and during the Covid-19 crisis period.
These solar power plants will provide Quality and reliable day time electricity to farmers and boost agricultural output, savings on the Transmission network cost and reduced T&D losses for DISCOM. It will contribute to the nation’s vision of 100 GW solar capacity by 2022 and will act as a catalyst to enhance India’s position as a global green power. This will also contribute towards “The goal of doubling farmers’ income by the year 2022”
CEL
Central Electronics Limited is a Govt. of India Enterprise under Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science & Technology. It was established in 1974 with an objective to commercially exploit the indigenous technologies developed by National Laboratories and R&D Institutions in the country. CEL has pioneered Solar Photovoltaic in the country. After manufacturing India’s First solar cell in 1977 CEL went on to manufacture the country’s first solar panel in 1978. CEL holds the distinction of supplying, installing and commissioning India’s first solar power plant in 1992 .