The government of Gujarat, India and USA Colorado province are about to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Summit (VGS) for the development of Gujarat’s energy sector in January 2019. As per sources, the biennial event held in Gandhinagar will witness the beginning of cooperation between Gujarat and Colorado to establish solar power stations, power distribution, electric vehicle manufacturing and other renewable energy sectors. Saurabh Patel, Gujarat’s Energy Minister to have said that the state  government has made plans to develop four to five solar projects capable of generating about 5000 MW of clean energy, while the Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA) has already invited an Expression of Interest (EOI) for installation of 1000 MW of solar power. Incidentally, the Colorado government has also agreed to cooperate with Gujarat’s SKY project that would enable farmers to effectively generate their own electricity via solar panels installed at their farms. Patel added that the Colorado government is an expert in the renewable energy sector and Gujarat is looking forward to signing MoUs at their upcoming VGS. In addition to the solar parks, the state is also expecting partnerships with different U.S. based companies to produce electric vehicles and establish e-vehicle fueling stations across the state. Sources suggest that the state government is preparing to launch an e-vehicle policy in a bid to promote the purchase of EVs in the region. Patel has been reported to say that the Gujarat government is looking forward to forming a collaboration between U.S. institutions and companies and education institutions in Gujarat in a bid to enable a student exchange program as well as help students in the state study models for developing energy distribution and power distribution. A delegation from Colorado will visit Gujarat and will interact with various stake-holders in the renewable energy sector during a three day stay, claims an official press release.
