The India Solar Investment & Technology Summit Day 1 saw 15,000 people gather to view the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi ‘dedicate 600MW of solar power to the nation’ at the inauguration of the Charanka Solar Park near Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The event was held amidst political fanfare in the middle of a 2,699 acre arid wasteland at a remote part of Gujarat.

He handed out certificates to projects that were deemed to be commissioned under the Gujarat solar policy (More details available in the April 2012 edition of the India Solar Compass).

Our team was present and tweeting live (follow) from the solar park as it was  inaugurated. 

4 key highlights

1. At the inauguration of the Charanka solar park, Chief Minister Modi handed out commissioning certificates to projects worth 604.89MW under the Gujarat solar policy. The park is located in the Patan district in northern Gujarat.
2. Naoki Sakai, Senior Energy Specialist from the Asian Development Bank offered funding support of $500million to the Gujarat Government for research and development of solar, vocational training with the Pandit Deen Dayal Petroleum University and development of smart grids and a second solar park in the state.
3. Peter Haas, Consul General from the US Consulate at Mumbai, committed to clean energy advancement in India by offering a total financing support $0.5 billion dollars for solar and clean energy development in the country.
4. CM Modi said “We [Gujarat]  are blessed with high solar irradiation. We are committed to green power”. He articulated plans to produce solar power on rooftops and agricultural farms, with a focus on the importance of decentralized power. He mentioned that people would be able to rent out their rooftops for smaller off-grid projects.  ”30,000 people will get jobs in solar” he said.

There was no mention of phase III of the Gujarat solar policy. However, he will be speaking at the India Solar Investment & Technology Summit Inaugural address again tomorrow. The solar park visit was part of this three day conference.

About the Charanka Solar Park : The Charanka Village has become a 200MW solar power hub in the middle of nowhere. There are rows upon rows of solar panels, dominated by PV thin film technology. The village has received high class grid and road connectivity infrastructure due to development of the solar park in Gujarat.