CEEW's comments on

CEEW's comments on Rewa solar park project

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has today dedicated Asia’s largest solar power project, the Rewa solar power project in Madhya Pradesh, to the nation. The new 750 MW Solar Power plant Project has been set up at Rewa, in the state of Madhya Pradesh. PM Modi inaugurated the solar power project by video conferencing. 

Stating that India is among the top 5 nations in the world in terms of solar energy, PM Modi added that solar energy is the medium of energy for the 21st century. According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, this Solar Power project in Rewa consists of three solar power generating units, each having a capacity of 250 MW and each located on a 500 hectare plot of land, which is situated inside a Solar Park.

Commenting on the inauguration of the new solar park project, Neeraj Kuldeep, Programme Lead, The Council on Energy Environment and Water says, “Rewa solar park project has been a pioneering effort from India to demonstrate the innovation on Power Purchase Agreements (PPA), Reverse Auction Bid mechanism, achieving the scale and coordination between centre and state. Our Prime Minister has clearly articulated the various benefits offered by solar power beyond clean electricity. Apart from the local employment creation, significant demand for solar power would support domestic manufacturing of solar modules and other plant equipment, contributing towards making India AatmaNirbhar." -

Sharing two quotes from The council on

Sharing two quotes from The council on Energy Environment and Water (CEEW) on the announcement made by the FM today. Please use either of the two for your story on the same  

Universal minimum wage

"Introducing a uniform national floor wage is a much-needed reform that will provide income security to over 180 million informal workers. India's MSME could especially be significantly impacted as labour cost forms almost half of their working capital and this additional financial burden could reduce their competitiveness. Hence, policymakers must focus on rationalisation of energy purchase costs and provide impetus to increase energy efficiency measures in MSMEs to help them retain their competitiveness." - Hemant Mallya, Senior Programme Lead, CEEW 

Liquidity Support for Farmers

"It’s encouraging to see additional liquidity support to farmers in distressing times. Within NABARD's refinancing of INR 29.500 crore, a particular focus should be brought to post-harvest management of perishable commodities. We have already witnessed perishables worth thousands of crores getting wasted due to lockdown. By extending preferential credit to Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) to implement post-harvest solutions such as solar drying, small scale food processing, and farm-gate cold storages, we can not only avoid the food wastage but also enhance rural farm and non-farm incomes." - Abhishek Jain, Senior Programme Lead, CEEW