Green energy pilot project rolls
Patna: The use of a micro power generating unit, which uses hybrid technology, is being tested in Bihar as part of a pilot project of Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited (BSPHCL).
The unit uses both wind and solar power for generating 1kW of power every month which equals to around 120 units of power we use in our households. The first such micro unit has been set atop Vidyut Bhavan as part of the pilot project.
Sharing details with The Telegraph, BSPHCL director (administration) R. Lakshmanan said: “The facility uses hybrid technology and it allows it to generate electricity round-the-clock. For now, one such unit has been set up atop our office and two more such units would be set up as part of the pilot project.”
Of the two more units, which are to be set up under the pilot project, will be atop the second block of Vidyut Bhavan and a building in Rehal village Rohtas district. The village, once considered to be a stronghold of Maoists, has witnessed many positive changes of late and several steps have been taken in the recent past to promote use of renewable sources of energy there.
The BSPHCL director said based on the experience of the pilot project, the power company will take a call on the wide-scale use of hybrid technology for harnessing two renewable sources of energy – solar and wind – to generate power at the micro-level.
This technology also allows scaling up power generation by setting up more than one unit at one place for generating the desired quantity of power. There is, however, a deterrent. It pertains to cost. Market sources said the hybrid power generating unit of 1kW comes at a price of around Rs 2 lakh.
On the price factor, Lakshmanan said the cost factor would definitely be taken into account while taking a call on wide-scale use of this technology. “For now, we are testing the technology only on pilot basis and any call on its wide-scale use will be taken only after taking all the factors, including cost, into account,” said the BSPHCL director.
Source: telegraphindia
