Minister for Energy and Tourism K.J. George announced that Karnataka is in the final stage of procuring an additional 10,000 acres to develop a solar energy plant at the Pavagada solar park in Tumakuru district. The announcement was presented as part of routine portfolio updates and the procurement process was described as nearing completion, with the aim of increasing the land area available for utility scale solar development.

The minister said the State has nearly 27.3 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy capacity, including more than 11.5 GW of solar and 8.5 GW of wind. He noted that the state already holds more than 10,000 acres within the Pavagada complex and indicated that the new acquisition would roughly double the land base dedicated to large scale solar development. Officials added that the expansion is intended to accommodate additional photovoltaic projects and associated grid connections.

The Pavagada solar park, spread across multiple villages in Pavagada taluk of Tumakuru district, has been developed as a cluster of large scale solar installations on leased agricultural land. The site has attracted developers through competitive bids and has been cited by the state as a model for land pooling and renewable investment at scale. The planned additional acreage is expected to enable further tranches of capacity to be allocated to project developers.

State officials framed the move as aligning with broader targets to accelerate clean energy deployment and to strengthen grid integration across Karnataka. The minister linked the expansion to efforts to maintain the state's position among leading renewable energy jurisdictions in India and to support energy security and economic activity in the region. The procurement now proceeds through administrative approvals and land transfer formalities.