1st PAVG Meet Focuses On Odisha’s Transition To Renewable Energy

Bhubaneswar:  The first ever Policy Advocacy and Vision Group (PAVG) meeting on renewable energy was held in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.

In his address, chief secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena stressed the importance of ensuring proper and timely implementation of the Renewal Energy (RE) policy and reaffirmed the state’s energy transition goals. He also emphasised on making renewable energy an integral part of the overall energy policy towards achieving installed renewable energy capacity by 2030.

Director (Finance & CA), GRIDCO GB Swain presented an overview of the incentives and exemptions available for promoting RE projects which included streamlining of access to land, statutory clearances and connectivity. He also highlighted the success of the single-window clearance committee system for facilitating coordination and hassle-free investment.

During the deliberation, the committee members presented their suggestions in determining appropriate land leasing costs for RE projects considering the unique land distribution and geographical conditions of the state. The need for a dedicated rooftop policy to maximise the potential of commercial and residential rooftops was also addressed.

The discussions also featured EV charging infrastructure, next phase of the state’s EV policy and the future action plan for development of wind energy. The meeting prioritised the consolidation of various Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) working on the implementation of RE projects.

The state government has constituted the PAVG to act as a think tank and key advisor on diverse policy related issues. The PAVG is a body of intellectuals, professionals, and practitioners from various fields such as academia, research, industry, commerce, administration, finance, marketing and international developmental financing.

GRIDCO, being the nodal agency for the implementation of RE policy in the state, serves as the secretariat for the PAVG.

The members of the PAVG including Development Commissioner Anu Garg; Additional Chief Secretary, Energy Department, Nikunja Bihari Dhal; Principal Secretary, Finance Department, Vishal Kumar Dev; PK Pujari, former secretary (Power) and Chairman, CERC; Prof Sukumar Mishra, IIT Delhi; Prof Anoop Singh, IIT Kanpur; Prof Chandrasekhar N Bhende, IIT Bhubaneswar; Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD, Tata Power and Rajesh Srivastava, Aditya Birla Group participated in the deliberation.

Workshop on Green Energy

A workshop on the state’s transition to green energy was also organised by GRIDCO in the city on the day. Inaugurating the workshop, the chief secretary spoke on the state’s commitment to green energy as per Renewable Energy Policy 2022.

The participants discussed green energy, industry, transport, mining and agriculture sectors at different sessions of the workshop.

GRIDCO chairman Nikunja Bihar Dhal also spoke at the wrkshop.