Pavagada solar plant, not Rewa, is Asia’s largest, says DK Shivakumar while questioning Centre's claim

Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar on Friday questioned the Centre’s claim that the 750 MW solar plant in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh was Asia’s largest, saying that fame should come to Karnataka’s Pavagada solar plant.

“BJP Central Govt is claiming today that it inaugurated Asia's Largest Solar Plant of 750 MW at Rewa, Madhya Pradesh. What then is the 2000 MW Solar Plant in Pavagada, Karnataka which was built in just 3 years by Congress govt and has been operational since 2018?” Shivakumar said in a tweet.

“Union Power Minister must answer as to how the Central Government can claim that the Rewa Solar Park (750 MW) opened today is Asia's largest when clearly the Pavagada Park in Karnataka is much larger (2000 MW) and was opened two years back!” he said.

As the then energy minister, Shivakumar anchored the Pavagada solar park project. The solar park, spread over nearly 13,000 acres, was inaugurated in March 2018. The land for the solar park has been leased for 28-30 years for which farmers get an annual lease rent of Rs 21,000 with a 5% increase every two years.

“The unique thing about the 2000 MW Pavagada Mega Solar Park was that not a single acre of land was acquired from the farmers. All 13,000 acres have been leased from the farmers who are being given yearly rent. Karnataka model of renewable energy was accepted as the best in India,” Shivakumar said.