Govt promoting new technologies in power sector

The government of Andhra Pradesh has been one of the pioneers in the implementation of reforms and promotion of new technologies in the power sector across the Country. The State has huge untapped Renewable Energy potential for setting up 38 GW of solar and 44 GW of wind power projects. AP has attracted investments in the energy sector worth Rs 9.57 Lakh Crore during the AP Global Investor Summit 2023 held in Visakhapatnam on 3rd& 4th March 2023.
Out of the MoUs signed, investment proposals worth Rs 52,015 Crore were already grounded.
This includes 10 GW of RE Capacity, comprising Solar, Wind, PSPs and BESS which could generate 12,585 potential employment opportunities. AP has notified various policies and incentives for promotion of RE such as AP Renewable Energy Export Policy 2020, AP Pumped Storage Power Policy 2022 and AP Green Hydrogen & Green Ammonia Policy 2023. AP Govt. entered MoUs for development of Renewable Energy Projects with M/s HPCL worth Rs 10,000 Crore.
AP Special Chief Secretary Energy K Vijayanand said that the Per Capita energy consumption of the State has increased to 1,357 kWh in FY23 from 1,234 kWh in FY19 which is a significant indicator of improved living standards and overall well-being for the citizens of Andhra Pradesh. The State’s installed generation capacity is 26,483 MW in which renewables contribute 40% of the total installed capacity, with 4,287 MW of solar, 4,084 MW of wind, 1,780 MW of Hydel and 521 MW of other RE sources. AP had supplied a maximum energy of 263.24 MU on 16.06.2023 without any deficit and met a maximum demand of 13,028 MW on 13.10.2023.
Vijayanand stated Andhra Pradesh is well-positioned to drive India’s ambitious RE target of 500 GW by 2030 and is blessed with abundant natural resources that make it a natural fit for renewable energy production. He explained that in investments in the green energy sector, AP has huge untapped Renewable Energy potential for setting up 38 GW of solar and 44 GW of wind power projects. He further explained that AP has notified various policies and incentives for the promotion of RE such as AP Renewable Energy Export Policy 2020, AP Pumped Storage Power Policy 2022 and AP Green Hydrogen & Green Ammonia Policy 2023. He pointed out that AP entered MoUs for the development of Renewable Energy Projects with M/s. HPCL worth Rs.10,000 Crore.
Vijayanand stated that the power sector has supported 39.64 lakh beneficiaries in 2023 in Agriculture, Aqua and Animal Husbandry, SC, ST, BC and other consumers through ‘Navaratnalu’ schemes, providing tariff subsidies totalling Rs. 46,581 crore under which five lakh houses are electrified in Jagananna Housing Colonies and individual sites across the State, supplied 10,324 MUs of free power to agricultural consumers and planned to supply around  13,185 MUs. He explained that AP has signed an agreement with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to purchase 7,000 MW of solar power at Rs 2.49/kWh to provide 9 hours of free power supply during daytime to around 19.58 lakhs agricultural consumers and proposed installation of smart metres for 19.58 lakh agricultural consumers without any burden on the DISCOMs and their consumers.