Bangalore, March 4 2018: Karnataka state has laid claim to building the worlkd's largest solar power farm: the 2000 MW Pavagada Solar Park, named Shakti Sthala, is located  in  the arid Tumkur district of the state, spanning 13,000 acres across 5 villages.  
Over 2,300 farmers of Pavagada Taluk joined the Government as partners, stakeholders, shareholders -- and  beneficiaries. The project has been executed within a record time of two years, with zero land acquisition. The farmers who have leased out their land  are earning Rs 21,000 per acre as rental, an amount which  is expected to grow by 5% every two years. 
The park was inaugurated on March 1 by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramiah.
Says DK Shivakumar, the state's Energy Minister: “Pavagada, is one of the most arid regions of our state. Over the last 5 decades, due to extreme weather conditions and low possibilities of economic growth, more than 10,000 people had migrated annually from Pavagada. To solve this problem, we are building the world’s largest Solar Power Park of 2000 MW in Pavagada Taluk on mission mode."
See our Image story on the Pavagada solar farm here.