The Government unveiled the guidelines for selection of new solar power projects under the 1000 MW solar power scheme in the first phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission.

This would put India in league with countries like Germany, Spain and Japan who are leaders in harnessing solar power, an official statement said.

The guidelines were released by Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah and Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde at a function.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Abdullah said that the Government was committed to adding 1100 MW of grid connected solar power by the end of the first phase of the Mission and this will only be possible if all activities are carried out with clockwork precision.

He said that the National Solar Mission has generated a lot of interest both in the domestic and international sectors was evident from the fact that the small grid connected plants scheme that was recently launched, attracted nearly 400 MW worth of applications-nearly four times the available capacity.

He said that he has asked Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) to ensure that it should announce the list of eligible projects selected under the scheme latest by August 15, 2010.

Dr Abdullah anticipated a similarly large response in the large grid-connected power plants as well and expressed hope that NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam(NVVN) will now take immediate steps to bring out the expression of interest, invite applications and select eligible developers under the policy released.

Mr Shinde said that the guidelines have been finalised after considerable deliberations in true spirit for the success of the National Solar Mission.

He said that the NVVN, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC, is the nodal agency for entering into Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Solar Power Developers and will shortly be inviting project developers to participate in the Request for Selection (RFS) for development of Solar Projects under this scheme.

UNI