Pavagada, in Tumakuru district, and about 180 kilometres from Bengaluru, had been declared drought-hit for 54 of the last 60 years. Now, the fortunes of the location is changing for the better, thanks to making use of what is available abundantly – sunshine.
The solar park in Pavagada is the largest in the world. This has moved Karnataka to the top of the list of states in renewable energy generation. The US-based Institute for Energy Economics an Financial Analysis (IEEFA) had noted the achievement of Pavagada. However, the plant is yet to be operational to its full capacity right now, with only 600 MW of the 2,000 MW working. The Karnataka government intends to use the plant’s full capacity by September 2019.
The IEEFA has also noted that Karnataka has several wind turbine, hydro and biomass-to-energy plants, generates about 12,500 MW of renewable energy. This surpasses some of Europe’s green energy powerhouses such as Denmark (7,800 MW) and Netherlands (7,700 MW).
At present, Ananthapuram Ultra Mega Solar Park in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh, is the next largest solar park. This park produces about 500 MW and intends to generate 1500 MW in future.
Tumakuru district, the north-western neighbour of Bengaluru, is rapidly industrialising, with quite many of the well-known industries setting up base there. Therefore, the solar park will be surely beneficial to the industries in Tumakuru.
