A union territory earlier fully dependent on Gujarat for its power requirements, Diu now runs 100 percent on solar power generated energy, becoming the first union territory in India to do so.
In a model example for effective ways of generating renewable energy, Diu not only generates sufficient energy from solar power for the requirements of its residents, but also generates surplus power, thereby bringing down electricity costs.
In a short span of 3 years, Diu has installed solar power plants over more than 50 acres, generating a total of 13 megawatts of energy from solar power facilities. While 3 MW is generated by rooftop solar plants, 10 MW is generated by its other solar parts.
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As recent as 3 years ago, the residents of Diu were dependent on electricity supplied by the power grid owned by the Gujarat government, resulting in huge line losses and expensive tariffs.
Daman and Diu electricity department executive engineer Milind Ingle told TOI, “The population of Diu is only 56,000. For water and electricity, the Union territory was solely dependent on the Gujarat government. To overcome this limitation, the administration of the Union territory decided to set up solar power plants in Diu.”
He added, “Diu’s peak-time demand for electricity goes up to 7 MW and we generate about 10.5 MW of electricity from solar energy daily. This is way more than the consumption demand requirement.”
Monthly electricity bill charges for local residents has fallen by around 12 percent, Ingle said. Earlier, the charges for 0-50 units was Rs 1.20 per unit and 50-100 units for Rs 1.50 unit which has now been brought down to 1-100 units for Rs 1.01 per unit.
The significance of Diu using 100 percent solar powered energy is great, as it confirms that it is possible to switch over from current non-renewable forms of energy sources to cleaner and renewable sources.
Source: newsworldindia.in
