Acquiring land for setting up solar power projects is one of the biggest
challenges for solar project developers in India. Solar power project require
large track of land and the cost of land is critical in reducing the overall
project costs.
To set up solar power project of one megawatt capacity ,around 6000
square metre ( around 1.5 acre ) of land is required .
By end of December, 2023, India’s installed capacity for solar power was
around 74 GW and around 45GW of wind power. With the target of
achieving 500GW of renewable power projects by 2030, India has to increase
the installed capacity of solar power projects multifold.
To ensure that India would be able to have high solar power installed
capacity by 2030 commensurate with the target of 500 GW for renewable
energy, it is absolutely necessary that land acquisition issue for solar power
projects should be sorted out once for all.
In a densely populated country like India, acquisition of land for any
purpose, whether industrial, commercial, infrastructure , mining or other
purpose have been a formidable ticklish issue. In several cases, agricultural
land are being sought to be taken over for such projects and there have been
severe public resistance for such proposals, as this uproots the life of the
farmers and agriculturists who have been depending on the agricultural
land for their earnings and livelihood . Not surprisingly , there have been
protests and opposition for such move to acquire agricultural land. A careful
and dispassionate study and analysis of the above scenario would highlight
the fact that the apprehensions and anxiety are genuine and cannot be
ignored or taken for granted under any circumstances.
As a result , in the last decade , a number of proposed and prospective
industrial and infrastructure projects have been shelved or heavily delayed
due to the land acquisition issues in the country.
Need for land bank for solar power project:
It is high time that the Government of India should create a comprehensive
policy and approach to ensure adequate land availability for solar power
projects , without disturbing the agricultural operations or upsetting the
livelihood and economic conditions of people belonging to lower income
group.
It is necessary, to carry out a detailed land audit all over India to identify
surplus / unused land , which have not been put to use for more than five
years and such land can be acquired by the government to set up solar
power . project . Most of such sites would be suitable for setting up solar
power project in view of the tropical conditions in most part of the country
and most period of the year.
There are many sick industrial units in large , medium and small scale
level,which are not in operation for several years and number of them
may have large area of unused land. Such land as well as acreage,
buildings and other facilities belonging to thousands of industrial
units of various sizes that fell sick and were closed, with little or no
prospects of being reopened, can be used to set up solar power
projects , instead of taking over farmland.
A 2015-16 study estimated that India had around 55.76 million hectares of
wasteland (16.96 per cent of the country’s total area), including dense scrub,
waterlogged marshy land, sandy areas, degraded pastures / grazing land,
alkaline and saline land, barren rocky areas etc. (Source: NRSC, ISRO, Dept. of
Space & Department of Land Resources, Ministry of rural Development).
Such wasteland can be recovered and reclaimed and put to use for setting up
solar power projects..
Pattern of waste land distribution
Further, there are many operating industrial units all over India,
which have large tracts of surplus and unused land.
Similarly, there are many educational institutions and universities
which have much land which has remained unutilised for decades.
Central and state governments, as well as the Indian Railways own
land, possibly running into several thousands of acres, which are
not in use.
In view of the land acquisition issues, solar power projects are
facing crisis situation to move on in expanding the capacity and
meeting the energy requirement of the country.
Unfortunately, no organised study has been initiated by government
so far to assess the availability of such unused and waste land and
the feasibility of putting them to use. It is high time that the
government looks into the matter