Gujarat ready to become green hydrogen production hub: Governor

Gujarat is ready to become the "national hub" of green hydrogen production, Governor Acharya Devvrat said on Wednesday in his address to the state legislative assembly on the first day of the Budget session in Gandhinagar.The state has set itself a production target of 30 lakh tons of green hydrogen per year, he said, highlighting the government's stress on the development of renewable sources of electricity over the years.
Under a policy rolled out in 2023, unused government land was leased out for the production of green hydrogen using unconventional energy sources such as solar and wind, said Devvrat, adding that entrepreneurs in the sector signed MoUs of Rs 3 lakh crore at the last year's Vibrant Gujarat Summit.
"Generation of about 100 gigawatts of power from unconventional energy sources will be required for the production of green hydrogen. The government has approved allotment of nearly 1.99 lakh hectares of land to establish a Renewable Energy Park for its production," he said. Under the `Gujarat Renewable Energy Policy, 2023', solar power plants with total generation capacity of 3,886.56 MW had been commissioned as of December 2024, increasing the state's total solar power generation capacity to 16,796 MW, he said. Wind farms with a combined power generation capacity of 627.26 MW were commissioned till December 2024, increasing Gujarat's total wind power generation capacity to 12,474 MW, the governor added.
The BJP-ruled state was the rst in the country to announce a solar policy in 2009, and put in place necessary infrastructure and legal framework to promote solar power, the governor noted.The state has encouraged installation of rooftop solar panels, achieving 4,822 MW of installed capacity and ranking rst in the country, he added. The state is also a leader in Articial Intelligence or AI-driven innovation, the governor said. The Budget session will go on till March 28.

(State Correspondent)