Centre extends Kusum-C solarproject deadline to March 2026
Bengaluru: Facing multiple hurdles in going ahead with the centrally sponsored PM-Kusum-C solar project, the state govt received a shot in the arm with the Centre extending the deadline for its implementation to March 2026.
Launched a year ago, Karnataka was supposed to solarise 389 power substations under all five electricity supply companies (Escoms) by Dec 2024. However, the state govt commissioned only about 15 stations, while the work on 370 plus substations is still in progress under PM-Kusum-C (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyaan). CM Siddaramaiah is scheduled to inaugurate one of the commissioned stations at Gauribidanur in Chikkaballapur district Thursday.
The slow pace of the project in Karnataka is largely attributed to the delay in identifying and acquiring suitable land for setting up solar plants. "The solar plants need to be within a radius of 5-10km from substations, making it easier for the evacuation of power. While in some villages there was govt land, in some other villages, the govt land was not suitable for setting up solar plants, and we had to acquire private land on a lease basis.
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Even if there was land, the project agency spent considerable time levelling the ground for setting up solar plants. These hurdles in getting suitable land impacted the project considerably," explained a senior energy department official.
This apart, drawing of transmission lines also turned out to be a major hindrance. "In a few substation limits, the lines had to be drawn over private lands, and farmers were sceptical that they couldn't cultivate any fruit-bearing trees if they allowed any transmission lines over their fields or demanded compensation to allow installation of concrete poles to set up transmission lines...
We had to bypass such fields, and eventually, project implementing agencies had to take transmission lines underground at some locations," explained another engineer.
Acknowledging the delay in the availability of land, energy minister KJ George said efforts were made in every district by taking MLAs into confidence. "I agree that we could commission only a few of the substations. But nearly 90 per cent of the work is in various stages, and in a month or two, they will also be completed, and generation will start," the minister explained.
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