PANJIM: Goa could soon be providing one of the cheapest rates of electric vehicle charging, at around Rs 8 per KW per hour, which will be a lot cheaper than many other States.
Goa’s Electric Vehicle Policy is ready but is awaiting clearance from the Finance Department before it can be placed before the Cabinet for approval. The earliest is could be placed before the Cabinet is at its meeting scheduled on Friday.
Speaking to Herald, Non-Renewable Energy Minister Nilesh Cabral when asked how Goa will be different from other States, particularly Delhi, said, “There is lot of difference. Delhi should have given a better plan than us. Rates for fast charging that we have derived for Goa are at Rs 8 per KW per hour, while Delhi rates vary between Rs 16 and 26. We are going to do for Goa and Goans.”
Asked the estimated budget for the project the minister said, “Right now we have kept the budget at Rs 25 crore for this financial year for the electrical vehicles.”
On whether the government was planning a “decarbonisation fund” for sustainability of the project, Cabral categorically said, “No, we are not creating any fund. For decarbonisation we have taken TERI on board. We have told them how and they are yet to come up with an entire concrete realistic plan for decarbonisation.”
The minister added that they have already installed four charging stations in Goa. “We want to install around 50 all over Goa and we have identified the spots. The installation will be done in a phased manner and by January end or February, we should have all 50 in place,” Cabral said.
Asked about the Central government’s ambitious plan to achieve net-zero, the Minister said, “We are working on that. We have installed 22 solar renewable power on roof top or land in Goa till now and also we are doing 110 more by the end of next year to reach around 150. We will also be floating a tender soon on this. In the EV Policy we will be declaring where we want to give subsidy, so we should not be like Delhi.”
Net zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere and one reaches net zero when the amount added is not more than the amount taken away.
Referring to subsidies the minister said Goan startups, especially for production of electrical vehicles are getting another Rs 5,000-10,000 subsidy depending on the power of the battery, another additional for startups, if they are starting in Goa.
