By Business India Editorial

Uttar Pradesh’s transition towards green energy is gaining momentum with strong backing from major players investing in renewable energy sources.

Investment proposals worth Rs4,782 crore in clean energy in the ground breaking ceremony held earlier this month are proof of it.

According to a government spokesman, Uttar Pradesh has become a preferred investment destination for renewables as the Yogi Adityanath government is providing a “favourable environment and full cooperation” to the investors.

The spokesman said that a look at sector-wise distribution of proposals indicates that there are 23 projects in the renewable energy sector, coming up in 21 districts -- Jalaun, Mau, Ballia, Azamgarh, Sitapur, Jhansi, Banda, Fatehpur, Kanpur, Noida, Aurraiya, Sonbhadra, Agra, Ambedkar Nagar, Badaun, Mahoba, Mirzapur, Pilibhit, Pratapgarh, Shahjahanpur, and Unnao.

Under the category of projects worth more than Rs500 crore, Jalaun has the largest investment with two solar plants at two villages in Orai by hydroelectric power generation company SJVN Ltd worth Rs791 crore.

SJVN is investing an amount of Rs1-,000 crore by implementing three Solar Power Projects in the state. Apart from the two projects in Jalaun, their third Solar Power Project is in Kanpur.

While, under the category of between Rs500 crore and 200 crore, AMP Energy is investing in projects worth Rs450 crore and Rs300 crore in Ballia and Mau districts, respectively.

There are several other projects in the same category coming up in Azamgarh, Jhansi, Sitapur, Banda, Fatehpur, Aurraiya, Noida and Sonbhadra districts.

Projects between Rs200 crore and Rs10 crore, the largest investment has come up in Jalaun by SAEL Limited worth Rs170 crore, followed by Badaun where Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited is making an investment of Rs125 crore.

The state government is focusing on replacing traditional energy sources like hydrocarbon-based energy with green energy like solar, wind, and green hydrogen. It is also setting up an infrastructure to transmit electricity from renewable energy projects as it seeks to boost the output from green sources and meet the state's energy requirement from them. 

Large-scale investments in the renewable energy sector are going to change the biosphere of the state in the coming years.