NEW DELHI: To reach the target of generating 500MW of renewable energy by the end of 2023, Delhi government has started looking for new locations to install solar power plants.
Officials said they were scouting for properties owned by various government agencies where solar plants could be installed on rooftops and vacant land within the premises.
Currently, there are about 140 government buildings, apart from over 500 state-run and corporation schools, that have solar power plants installed on them. About 3,200 independent houses, 60 commercial and institutional buildings and 50 group housing societies also have solar plants of different capacities, together generating about 240MW of renewable energy.
Delhi government has now decided to intensify its efforts and rope in as many government buildings under the scheme as possible.
The upcoming Delhi Solar Policy, for which a consultative process was started by Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC) in May, is likely to make installation of rooftop solar energy plants on all government buildings mandatory. Officials accept that despite huge targets set at the national level and by the local government and incentives promised to individuals, installation of rooftop power generation plants and solar energy has failed to enthuse people at both institutional as well as individual levels.
According to a senior official, the power department of Delhi government internally set a new target of generating 500MW of solar energy, more than double the current generation, by the end of 2023. Sources said the plan was to have at least 25% of the total electricity produced through solar plants.
“This is only possible when we cover as many government buildings with renewable energy plants as possible. For this, the new policy may make it mandatory for all departments falling under Delhi government to have solar power plants,” said a senior Delhi government official.
The energy generated from the plants not only caters to the electricity requirement of the building, but the excess power is flowed into the grid through a net metering system and the owning agency earns money from that.
“The biggest problem, however, is how we maintain it. While private companies dealing in solar power plants only offer to install them, the responsibility of maintaining them lies with the department that owns the building. That is a major challenge,” said an official.
Also, at certain places where large-scale plants can be installed, the government will have to look for viability in the evacuation process.
Power evacuation allows the generated power to be immediately transmitted from a plant to the grid for further transmission or distribution to load centres. Officials said they were in constant touch with discoms to work out the system so that the additional electricity produced could be assimilated for further transmission.
Another Delhi government official, however, said all these challenges were being carefully looked into and resolved in the upcoming Delhi Solar Policy. “The draft policy has been prepared and shared with DDC for its views,” added the official.
Source: PTI
