Prime Minister Narendra Modi has virtually inaugurated the 300 MW Karnisar Solar Power Plant project by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) in the Bikaner district of Rajasthan. This would help enhance India’s energy security and cut down dependency on fossil fuel sources of energy.

Developed by NHPC Ltd., the Karnisar project has been constructed using nearly 7.75 lakh domestically manufactured solar photovoltaic cells and modules, aligning with the government's Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative to promote indigenous manufacturing across the renewable energy supply chain. The project also reflects India's growing emphasis on localising solar equipment production while reducing import dependence.

The solar park with a capacity of 300 MW would produce an estimated 75 crore units of energy that is sufficient to meet the electricity requirements of many lakh Indians households. This energy produced through the renewable source would avoid about 640,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per annum, providing benefits to the environment in the same measure as if more than 1.3 lakh cars had been taken off the roads per annum.

Prime Minister Modi said that renewable energy forms the bedrock of India’s energy security in the years ahead. In his speech, Prime Minister Modi also noted the significance of Rajasthan as one of India’s leading destinations for renewable energy, due to its solar energy potential and vast land available for installation of solar plants.

In addition to generating green energy, another positive impact of the Karnisar Solar Power Project is that it has provided job opportunities for the people in the area. As per NHPC, this project has provided employment to more than 40 local people through direct and indirect ways.

Bhupender Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, NHPC Limited, thanked the Central Government, Government of Rajasthan, Ministry of Power, and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for their assistance in the successful implementation of the project. He restated the company’s promise to increase their presence in renewable energy in addition to their hydropower operations.

NHPC, traditionally the leading hydropower company of India, has diversified its portfolio to include other forms of renewable energy generation technologies with the changing dynamics of energy production in the country. Currently, NHPC, which is a Navratna Public Sector undertaking, has an installed power generating capacity of more than 7.2 GW from hydro and renewable sources and is also developing many more solar, floating solar and pumped storage plants.

The development of the Karnisar project comes at a time when the Indian government is speeding up efforts to invest in renewable energy to meet the ambitious goal of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel electricity generation by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2070. Utility-scale solar projects like Karnisar will be crucial in satisfying the increasing energy demand while reducing carbon intensity in the energy sector.

Rajasthan still remains at the forefront of the growth of renewable energy in India due to its high levels of solar irradiance along with the growing number of solar and wind farms that have been integrated into the power grid. The completion of the 300 MW Karnisar Solar Power Plant by NHPC makes Rajasthan an even more significant player in the clean energy transition in India.