South Delhi Municipal Corporation to set up solar farms and drains to generate clean energy
NEW DELHI: The South Delhi Municipal Corporation has announced an ambitious plan to set up “solar drains” and “solar farms”, besides covering municipal buildings with panels generating clean power. “We will cover drains in Greater Kailash and Subhash Nagar with solar panels. Solar fields will be set up on corporation-owned lands in Ghummanhera and Faridabad. Funds for these projects will be raised via municipal bonds,” standing committee chairperson Shikha Rai said.
The two mini-solar drain projects are expected to generate 1.25MW of clean power and will come up at an approximate cost of Rs 7 crore. Both the covered and uncovered portions of GK drains will be able to generate approximately 0.5MW and the project is expected to cost SDMC Rs 2.75 crore. Similarly, the Subhash Nagar drain, which is much longer, will generate 0.75MW and come up at a cost Rs 4.13 crore.
The two solar farms will collectively produce 26 MW of power. “The Ghumanhera land was handed over to us by the Delhi government on lease for setting up a landfill. Since that plan has now moved to Tehkhand, this land will be used for a 20MW solar farm. The study for this project is being carried out by the Solar Energy Corporation of India,” a senior corporation official said.
The corporation also plans to set up 7.5MW solar panels on 166 municipal buildings. Currently, 55 SDMC buildings — 54 schools and one community centre — have solar rooftop panels, which were set up at a cost of Rs 12 crore. The corporation now plans to install solar panels over rooftops of more than 400 buildings, including primary schools, community centres and zonal offices by June 2019.
The panels already installed have started yielding profits. In June, SDMC claimed to have become the first municipal body in the country to earn money — Rs 10 lakh — by selling surplus solar power.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes
