Question

Where in India, recently has the Clinton Foundation, founded by former US President Bill Clinton, firmed up its plans to set up world's largest solar park (3,000 to 5,000 MW capacity)?

• A. Bihar
• B. Orissa
• C. Gujarat
• D. Rajasthan

Hint:

This western Indian state with the Charanka Solar Park was the one linked with the Clinton Foundation's giant solar project.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

The correct answer is Gujarat.

Around 2009 to 2010, the Clinton Climate Initiative, an arm of the Clinton Foundation set up by former US President Bill Clinton, worked with the Government of Gujarat to plan a massive solar power park with a proposed capacity in the range of 3,000 to 5,000 MW. This tied in with Gujarat's own push into solar energy, which included the development of the Charanka Solar Park in Patan district, one of India's earliest large scale solar installations.

Gujarat was an attractive choice for this kind of project because of its large stretches of arid, sunny wasteland in areas like Kutch and Patan, strong state government backing for renewable energy, and reliable land availability compared to many other states. Bihar, Orissa, and Rajasthan were not the states associated with this particular Clinton Foundation solar initiative at that time, even though Rajasthan too has strong solar potential and later became a major solar hub in its own right.

So the Clinton Foundation's large scale solar park plan of that period was firmed up for Gujarat, making option 3 correct.