Non-utilisation of solar thermal power plant: Public Accounts Committee (2022-23)
A Parliamentary panel has asked the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to revive one MW solar thermal power plant at the National Institute of Solar Energy, saying that the "project led to an infructuous expenditure." A grid-interactive solar thermal power plant, with a capacity of 1 MW at Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) radiation of 600 W/m2, has been designed, developed and commissioned at the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), in collaboration with IIT, Bombay, and other consortium partners. The plant is not functional at present. In its 61st report on 'Non-Utilisation of Solar Thermal Plant', presented in Parliament , Public Accounts Committee stated that this project led to an infructuous expenditure of Rs 46.26 crore of public money. The panel stated that the feasibility of the project was evaluated objectively and comprehensively, and the loss could have been avoided. "At least now, the MNRE should explore the possibility of reviving the plant at the earliest and make it functional," it recommended.
