The Assam Cabinet has given in-principle approval for setting up 620 MW of renewable energy projects under a joint venture between the Assam Power Generation Corporation (APGCL) and Oil India.

The projects include three agrivoltaic projects with a cumulative capacity of 250 MW.

The seven green projects are:

• 70 MW Sonbeel floating solar project
• 100 MW Tezpur agrivoltaic project
• 40 MW Golaghat floating solar project
• 200 MW Margherita solar project
• 50 MW Lower Kopili agrivoltaic project,
• 60 MW Chandrapur solar project
• 100 MW Batadrava agrivoltaic project

These projects are expected to generate 1,733 employment opportunities during the construction and operation phases. Around 125 small producer organizations and 1,250 farmer families will also benefit from the proposed agrivoltaic projects.

The state cabinet also approved a proposal to set up a 70 MW solar project at Khudigaon under the Bilaspara Revenue Circle in the Dhubri district. The power would be sold to the Assam Power Distribution Company (APDCL). The project will be developed on a build, own, and operate model.

Last November, APDCL invited bids from consultants to prepare a detailed project report for a 1 GW grid-connected solar project in the Karbi Anglong district. The project will be developed under the ‘Mukhya Mantri Sauro Shakti Prokolpo’ program and funded by the Asian Development Bank.

Earlier, SJVN Green Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SJVN, had signed a memorandum of understanding with APDCL to invest ₹60 billion ($728.32 million) to develop 1,000 MW of floating solar projects. The projects are expected to generate 2,192 million units (MU) in the first year after commissioning and scale up to 50,425 MU of cumulative energy over the next 25 years.

Also, last year, Azure Power had announced the commissioning of its 90 MW solar project in Assam, the largest in the state. The project spread across four districts – Udalguri, Boko, Nagaon, and Cachar, was commissioned in phases. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had inaugurated the project.