Issue of Land acquisition for Renewable energy projects
BANGALORE: The state government has proposed to amend Karnataka Land Reforms Act to make availability of land easier for renewable energy (RE) projects.
Speaking at the 14th annual general meeting of Indian Wind Power Association in Bangalore on Wednesday, energy department principal secretary K Jairaj said at present, providing land for RE projects has become a lengthy process. "Hence, we have proposed for amendment in the Land Reforms Act. If this amendment is passed, RE projects can get land quickly. Otherwise, it will at least take over a year to get land for the project," he said.
He added that Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) can acquire land for the RE projects. However, he maintained that under the RE policy, renewable energy is considered an industry and it has to go through single window clearance for their project approval.
"The renewable energy generation target set for the year 2010-11 is 950 MW. While 715 MW is likely to be generated through 22 wind projects, in the first quarter of the year 80 MW would be added. At least 60 MW of power would be generated through solar and 130 MW from mini hydro projects," he said.
About the drop in wind energy generation last week, he said there was a drop in wind velocity which led to it. Otherwise, there were no technical glitches.
He stated that research and development on RE should be initiated by the industries. By 2014, 4,000 MW of power from renewable energy generation will be added to the grid.
CHINA SURGES AHEAD
China is moving ahead of India in wind energy generation. The production in China is 25,000 MW, while in India it is only 11,000 MW. Debashish Majumdar, chairman and managing director, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, said China had added 12,000 MW of wind energy in one year.
Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Bangalore/Land-Reforms-Act-to-be-made-eco-friendly/articleshow/6169322.cms
