Karnataka to add another 10,000 acres to Pavagada Solar Park: Power Minister

Solar panels are spread across several villages in Pavagada taluk of Tumakuru district. | Photo credit: Special arrangement

Energy and Tourism Minister KJ George on Tuesday (September 8) announced that Karnataka is in the final stages of acquiring an additional 10,000 acres for the development of a solar power plant at the Pavagada Solar Park.

“Karnataka is one of India’s leading renewable energy states. The state has nearly 27.3 GW of renewable energy capacity, including more than 11.5 GW of solar and 8.5 GW of wind capacity. We already have more than 10,000 acres of land under Pavagada Solar Park,” he said.

He was addressing guests at the Bharat Renewable Energy Summit and Expo 2026 organized by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

Mr George said: “Transition to renewable energy sources is not only about improving the environment, but has become an important priority for economic growth, industrial development, technological innovation, employment and energy security. India has entered the phase of perfecting this transition.”

However, the minister also said that availability of barren land is a major problem in agriculturally progressive states like Karnataka for installing renewable energy projects.

“In states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, availability of barren land is not a big problem. But in Karnataka, it is a problem. Hence, we are exploring major technology avenues like Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), which will help us acquire smaller plots of land for setting up solar energy projects.

No shortage

The government is taking all precautionary measures to ensure that the state does not face any power shortage despite prevailing drought conditions and is determined to ensure adequate power supply, Mr. George said.

“To ensure adequate power supply, we secured power from Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana last summer under power swap agreements. The power was returned between June and September. In the coming days, we will again get power from these states through swap agreements. If the expected power is not available through these arrangements, we will purchase power from other sources and supply it to consumers,” he said.

Summit in November

Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Secretary, MNRE announced that BRESE 2026 is scheduled to be held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, from November 2 to 5, 2026.

The summit will run concurrently with the ninth meeting of the Solar Alliance International Assembly and the fourth International Green Hydrogen Conference. Led by the central theme of “Invest, Innovate, Inspire”, the global platform is expected to gather participants from more than 75 countries and feature more than 400 exhibitors and more than 80 curated sessions.

Published – 8 Sep 2026 22:58 IST