Vikas Bhavan produces solar power, supplies to grid

Bareilly: Vikas Bhavan here has become the second building housing government offices after Varanasi in the state that has started generating electricity from solar energy and transferring the surplus to the power grid besides reducing power consumption by half.

Chief development officer Satendra Kumar said six months ago, they installed a 70-kilowatt solar energy plant on the rooftop of the building. “Over the past six months, we gradually have reduced our electricity bill by 50%. So far we have transferred 9,000 units to the electricity department since the solar plant was installed at Vikas Bhavan.”
The UP New & Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) had taken the initiative of installing rooftop solar power plants with 70 KW capacity at four government offices — Vikas Bhavan, collectorate, commissioner’s office and circuit house.

UPNEDA officials said there is an urgent need to switch to renewable sources of energy as thermal power produced from fossil fuel is not a long-lasting solution owing. “We want government buildings to function on solar power. That is why the 70 KW rooftop grid-interactive solar power plant was installed atop Vikas Bhavan building. The plant has a capacity to produce 1 lakh units of electricity a year. Before the plant was operational, our electricity bill was around Rs 1.75 lakh a month which has been reduced to Rs 62,000. Besides, we have given 9,000 units to the power grid over the past six months,” CDO Kumar said.

Seeing the results of solar power plant at Vikas Bhavan, additional district magistrate (finance) Jagat Pal Singh said he would also look into the solar plant at the collectorate that had been defunct for lack of proper maintenance. “I have asked the official concerned to immediately start the solar plant if it is defunct. Results of Vikas Bhavan solar plant are indeed amazing,” he said.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes