Chennai: Solar rooftops to cater 90 per cent power to corporation buildings

CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation is all set to install solar panels in 1,378 Chennai corporation owned buildings, in a bid to swerve towards green energy from non-renewable energy. “A detailed project report (DPR) has been prepared for installing solar panels in the corporation buildings. According to the DPR, the buildings will be installed with solar panels at a capital cost of '33.83 crore,” a corporation official said. It is learnt that the total power production capacity of these panels will be 5,639KW. “By installing these panels, it is assumed that 90 per cent of the power needs of the corporation buildings will be met through this project,” the official added.

The project will be implemented with the help of a private service provider. Ministry of new and renewable energy would provi-de a subsidy to the tune of Rs 9.16 crore. Chennai Corporation has to spend '24.67 crore for the project. The service provider will be paid according to the amount of energy produced, the official said. “Proposal has been sent to Board of Chennai Smart City Limited for approval. Once the approval is given, we will proceed to call for tenders,” explained the official. It is to be noted that the Tamil Nadu Solar Energy Policy 2012 has targeted to achieve 2,000 MW of solar power by 2015.