The huge investments being made by companies in the solar energy sector have opened up opportunities for fresh job creation in Uttar Pradesh, The state governments Solar Energy Policy 2017 is creating a plethora of opportunities for people to earn their living from it. In the last four-and-a-half years, solar power projects of 1,370 megawatt capacity have been commissioned while projects of another 417 MW capacity are under construction.

Big investors are coming forward to invest in the sector in the state. Besides, several Investment proposals for solar power projects are currently under the governments consideration. The government has set a target to achieve 10,700 MW capacity solar power generation by the year 2022, and is working on plans for setting up a solar park and an ultra mega solar park in the state.

The UP government formulated the solar energy policy soon after Yogi Adityanath took over as chief minister. Open access was given to companies for the establishment of solar parks and third party sale of solar energy. Under the incentive provisions of this policy, 100 per cent stamp duty exemption and 100 per cent exemption in electricity duty for 10 years is being given to investors through an online single window clearance system. This has led to 11 private companies in the solar Energy sector setting up their Plants in seven districts of the state, namely Bundelkhand, Banda, Chitrakoot, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Jalaun, Jhansi and Lalitpur to date. The solar power units are generating more than 550 MW of electricity daily.

Solar energy generation has also started in Chhibo village of Chitrakoot, with the commissioning of a 25 MW solar power plant by a private company. Besides, the REC Power Distribution Company is setting up a 50 MW solar power plant in Kanpur Dehat and a 75 MW solar plant in Jalaun.

The solar energy sector has been one of the priority areas of the Yogi government because of its multi-dimensional benefits, which has led to over two dozen solar power projects getting off the ground in UP with a total investment of Rs 8,905 crore so far. Besides, solar rooftops of 235 MW capacities have been installed in the state with the efforts of the government.

Furthermore, 19,579 solar pumps have been installed to benefit farmers. The installation of 1,80,000 solar power plants has transformed the picture of UPs villages. The rural folks that yearned for four hours of power supply during previous regimes due to frequent power outages are getting regular power supply with the massive investment in the solar energy sector during the Yogi regime.