YS Jagan lays foundation stone for 5,314 MW renewable energy projects costing Rs 25,850 Cr in AP

AMARAVATI: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that pumped storage power projects are environment-friendly and will reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

YS Jagan virtually laid the foundation stone for three renewable energy projects for producing around 5,314 MW of power in Nandyal district from his camp office in Tadepalli on Wednesday. He released a white paper on the opportunities for investments in the State in the green hydrogen sector.

The Chief Minister said that pumped storage power projects would help produce power during peak hours and bring in a revolution in green energy which would control the world in future and the State would became part of the green energy revolution. APGENCO also signed an MoU with National Hydro-Electric Power Corporation (NHPC) in the presence of the Chief Minister to promote pumped storage power projects. YS Jagan said the projects would help Andhra Pradesh become number one in green energy.

YS Jagan laid foundation stones for a 2,300 MW solar power project to be set up by Greenko at Junuthala village in Owk mandal, 700 MW solar and 314 MW wind power plants to be set up by AM Green Energy at Kandikayapalle village in Panyam mandal and 1,000 MW solar and wind power projects each to be set up by Ecoren Energy at Muddavaram village in Bethamcherla mandal. These companies would invest Rs 10,350 crore, Rs 4,500 crore and Rs 11,000 crore, creating employment opportunities for 2,300, 1,000 and 2,000 people respectively, he said.

MoU on pumped storage projects

“In all, 37 locations are identified to start pumped storage units to produce 41,000 MW and feasibility studies are completed on 29 projects for producing 33,240 MW. DPRs are ready for projects to produce 20,900 MW, out of which companies were permitted to begin work to produce 16, 180 MW. As per the MoU between APGENCO and NHPC, the two will set up 1,000 MW and 950 MW pumped storage units at Yaganti and Kapalapadu respectively with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore in partnership. These units will provide jobs for 2,000 people,” YS Jagan said.

The Chief Minister said that APGENCO and NHPC would also set up pumped storage power units worth 2,750 MW in three more locations for which feasibility studies were underway. Besides providing jobs to locals, the companies would also pay a royalty of Rs 1 lakh for each MW and pay farmers Rs 30,000 per acre every year with a price escalation of five percent every two years for giving their lands, he added.

“The State is already producing 8,999 MW of solar and wind power. The agreement with Solar Energy Corporation of India to get power at Rs 2.49 per unit will help with free power for farmers during the daytime for another 25 to 30 years,” the Chief Minister said.

Ministers P Ramachandra Reddy, Buggana Rajendranath, Deputy Chief Minister (Endowments) K Satyanarayana, Chief Secretary Dr KS Jawahar Reddy, APGENCO MD KVN Chakradhar Babu, NREDCAP VC and MD S Ramana Reddy, British Deputy High Commissioner Gareth Wynn Owen and other senior officials were also present.