By Manoj Kumar Tripathi Edited By: Dharmendra Pandey Updated: Tue, 02 Dec 2025 05:37 (IST) Solar Powered Expressway Project: GEAPP has said in its study that 450 to 500 MW of solar power plants can be installed on both sides of the expressway. The detailed project report related to this has also been approved by the state government. Bundelkhand Expressway of Uttar Pradesh Manoj Tripathi, Jagran, Lucknow: In Uttar Pradesh, the state with the highest number of expressways, the solar-powered expressway project has been eclipsed. The state government has set a target to install solar panels with a capacity of 500 MW on the empty strip of 15 to 20 meters between the main road and service lane on the 296 km long Bundelkhand Expressway. Remove Advertisement Only Read News If Yogi Adityanath government’s plan comes to fruition, this expressway would become the first expressway in the country to be powered by solar energy after the start of solar power production. Due to a lack of interest from investors, this project is currently on hold. The state government has transferred the responsibility of the solar power project of Bundelkhand Expressway to Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEDA). UPEDA has also started work on this Rs 1,800 crore project under Public Private Partnership (PPP). For this, UPEDA conducted a study of GEAPP (Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet), a global alliance for green energy transition. GEAPP said in its study that 450 to 500 MW of solar power plants could be installed on both sides of the highway. The detailed project report related to this has also been approved by the state government. The cost of this project is estimated to be around Rs 1,800 crore. Along with this, a proposal has also been prepared to keep the rate of electricity produced from this at Rs 4 to Rs 4.50 per unit. Since then, UPEDA has called for tenders twice, but the companies are not interested in this project. The companies argue that the government should purchase the electricity produced, only then will they start working on this project. This highway passes through Chitrakoot, Banda, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Jalaun, Auraiya and Etawah. One lakh houses in these districts would be supplied with electricity from this project. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16 July 2022. At the moment, due to the attitude of the companies, work on this project can only start if the government agrees to take the electricity.