The government is not ready to abandon or postpone important projects in the face of opposition or controversy, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
He was speaking on Sunday after inaugurating a 12 MW solar power plant set up on 35 acres of land at Ettukudaka, near Payyannur, by Cochin International Airport Limited.
The government was moving ahead with big projects which would be taken up in an eco-friendly manner. The people were taking a pro-development stance. Some people say development work should not be implemented now. The Chief Minister asked if not now when would such projects be implemented. “Such development projects are not for us. They are for our children and future generations. We should not be guilty in front of them,” he said.
The Chief Minister promised that the government would undertake environment-friendly development activities which would be beneficial to the local community. As part of it, large-scale solar projects and small hydel projects should come to the State. Solar power plants were indispensable for the future of our country.
The Chief Minister said that CIAL’s eco-friendly initiative had further strengthened the development vision of the State government.
Terrain-based
The solar power plant at Payyannur is a terrain-based installation, which was done by retaining the gradients of the land and it can accommodate 35% more panels than the plants in the plains. The plant would produce 48,000 units of electricity a day.
With this, the installed capacity of CIAL’s solar plants has increased to 50 MW. The power generated here is supplied to Kankol 110 KV substation through an underground cable.
CIAL was implementing a power banking system that provided additional power to KSEB’s power grid, which was taken back when required, he said.
Carbon footprint reduction
In the long run, projects like the solar power plants benefitted the environment by reducing the carbon footprint, the Chief Minister said. Solar power plants with an installed capacity of 50 MW could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 28,000 metric tonnes a year. This equated to avoiding the use of one million litres of fossil fuel and 7,000 cars on the road a year.
Minister for Electricity K. Krishnankutty presided. Local Self-Government and Excise Minister M.V. Govindan, MLAs T.I. Madhusoodanan and M. Rajagopalan, and others were present.
