UPSC-Relevant News Items

1. Land Bottlenecks Drive CPSUs to Partner with States for 33 Solar Parks

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Summary:

• • 33 approved solar parks (20.7 GW capacity) are developed via JVs between CPSUs and states to bypass land acquisition bottlenecks.
• • Land is a state subject, making the identification of large, contiguous parcels extremely difficult for utility-scale solar projects.
• • Hurdles like fragmented land ownership and complex conversion rules delay capacity expansion, as projects require 4-7 acres per MW.

Additional Facts:

• • The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) administers the Solar Park Scheme, encouraging Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs) to form Joint Ventures with State Implementing Agencies to pool resources and streamline the identification of contiguous land parcels.
• • Since 'Land' is listed under Entry 18 of the State List (Seventh Schedule), state revenue laws govern land use conversion, making CPSU-State JVs the primary institutional mechanism to bypass state-level procedural bottlenecks for infrastructure development.

Linkage with UPSC course:

• • GS Mains (GS-3):
• • • Infrastructure (Energy, Renewable Energy)
• • • Investment Models (Joint Ventures)
• • • Resource Mobilization

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