In a cabinet meeting chaired by the chief minister the state government approved developing Gorakhpur as a Solar City with a floating solar project to expand renewable power generation. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy requires Solar Cities to reduce conventional energy demand by at least 10 per cent within five years. For Gorakhpur this target is set at approximately 121.8 mn units of energy to be sourced from renewable means.

The project will feature a 20 megawatt (MW) floating solar plant at Chiluatal in Sadar tehsil and will utilise about 80 acres of water surface. Required areas fall under the Tourism Department, the Revenue Department and Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Limited. For implementation 11.4181 hectares, or 28.20 acres, of Tourism Department land will be provided free to Coal India Limited (CIL) which will develop the plant using its own resources.

The facility is expected to generate around 33.29 mn units of green energy annually which will be integrated into the grid to help meet local demand and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The government noted floating solar plants of 20 MW in Auraiya and 11 MW in Khurja are already operational. The initiative is anticipated to stimulate local employment, attract investment and notably aid environmental conservation as the city progresses towards Solar City status.

The cabinet approved the development of the Pachwara South coal block allocated to Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Limited (NUPPL) costing 22.429 bn. Financing will be 70 per cent debt of 15.7003 bn and 30 per cent equity, with state power corporation contributing Rs 3.2971 bn as 49 per cent stake. Coal will supply the three times 660 MW Ghatampur Project, mining began December 2025 and extraction targeted August 2026. Estimates indicate generation costs could fall by about 80 paise to Rs one per unit.