Shillong: The Meghalaya government with the new Chief Minister’s solar mission is aiming to achieve an installed power capacity of 200-300 MW.
The mission will invest around Rs 100 crore every year for the next five years.
The government will provide substantial subsidies for solar units, with large units receiving up to 70% subsidy and small units receiving up to 50% subsidy.
The mission will also facilitate connections with banks to help people secure up to 40% of the cost of a solar unit.
The government hopes that the solar mission will help to address the state’s power challenges.
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They envision a scenario where 30-40% of households are equipped with solar units, which would give them independence from the conventional grid and provide 8 to 9 hours of backup during load-shedding.
As part of the scheme, 40 KVA units will receive a 50% subsidy, while units exceeding 10 KVA will be eligible for net metering, which will allow them to feed excess power into the grid during surplus generation periods and receive credits on their electricity bills.
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The government has also announced plans to establish LED assembling units across the state and to work with battery manufacturers to establish battery production and maintenance facilities.