Ahmedabad: With installed capacity of 1,444 MW on industrial, commercial, and residential rooftops, Gujarat ranks first among all states in terms of solar rooftop projects, the state government said.
Gujarat is also the leading state in terms of solar rooftop projects on private residential structures. Since launching the policy in 2016-17, the state has installed 1,081 MW solar power capacity on rooftops of 2,84,000 such buildings, which is the highest in the country, the state government said on Tuesday.
While climate change is attracting a lot of attention now and economies world over are focusing efforts on shifting from traditional energy sources to renewable energy sources to tackle global warming, Gujarat was the first in Asia to launch a Climate Change department way back in 2009.
Gujarat is home to 14,963 MW of wind, solar, hydro and other renewable energy capacity, which is 15% of the country’s overall capacity and the third highest in the country.
The state was the first in India to tap solar power on a large scale, and is presently home to 5,947 MW solar power capacity, the third highest in the country. The installed wind power capacity in the state is 8,860 MW, which is the second highest.
A senior official said the state government is committed to further scaling up renewable energy capacity. A 30 GW hybrid renewable energy park, which will comprise both solar and wind power projects, is being planned in Kutch, he said, adding several more projects are also in the pipeline.