New Delhi, Aug 23 - The Gujarat government has approved 34 solar power projects at an investment of Rs.12,000 crore (Rs.120 billion/$2.4 billion) over the next few years, to rank it the top Indian state for this clean energy, a senior official has said.

'The projects will add 716 MW to our state electricity grid. This is 2-3 percent of the power requirement,' said a senior official with the state government-run Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA).

'This will make Gujarat India's top investment destination for solar power generation,' the official told IANS over phone from state capital Gandhinagar, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Many of the firms setting up solar power plants are also keen to start manufacturing various components of these plants within the state, he said, pointing out: 'This will add to the investment and generate more employment.'

He said the solar power plants would generate 1,250 million units of eco-friendly energy every year. 'We will thus avoid the use of 875,000 tonnes of coal on an annual basis and 1.25 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emission.'

Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas that is leading to climate change, which is already affecting farm output, causing more droughts, floods and storms, and raising the sea level alarmingly.

India is among the countries suffering the worst effects of climate change. The latest annual Economic Survey says the country is spending 2.6 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), estimated at $1.2 trillion, to cope with climate change effects.

The National Action Plan on Climate Change has, accordingly, identified solar energy as the main way to generate clean electricity since coal-fired thermal power plants have been found to be the biggest sources of carbon dioxide emissions around the world.

Solar power firms around the world are making a beeline to India. In fact, the first trade delegation sent by the Barack Obama administration of the US to the country was to seek business opportunities in this field.

The GEDA official said the 34 new solar power projects would also provide employment to over 5,000 people. Of the 34 projects, 24 will use photovoltaic technology to produce 365 MW, while the remaining 10 will use the newer solar thermal technology.

The developer and the generation (in MW) from each project is:

Solar Photovoltaic Projects (365)

-AES Solar Energy P. Ltd, US (15)

-Astonfield Solar (Gujarat), US (25)

-Azure Power Ltd.