Solar park to be built on Bundelkhand Expressway, one lakh consumers will get electricity

An area of about 1,700 hectares falling along the Bundelkhand Expressway in Uttar Pradesh will go to a solar park. It will be developed on the BOO—Build, Own and Operate—model under the supervision of Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority.

It was in August last year that UPEIDA had invited Expressions of Interest for pre-feasibility, in which a presentation on it was given by nine organizations. Of these, M/s Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet presented its detailed report to the officials of UPEIDA in February this year, which appeared sometime back before the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath by the officials of UPEIDA.

Chief Minister Yogi wants to make it a solar expressway—that by building the entire area as a solar farm. It quoted 1,700 hectares of land availability from UPDA for this solar park. This land is from the main carriageway and service road of the 296 km long Bundelkhand Expressway from Etawah to Chitrakoot. The average width of the land available fenced between the main carriageway and the service road works out to 15-20 meters. A solar park is proposed there.

The whole area receives 5 to 5.5 kWh per square meter per day of solar radiation rate." The cost of developing a solar park here would be over Rs 2,500 crore, the report added.