Dhaward district has 2,232 major government buildings of which only 98 have SRTPV systems with a installed capacity of 1,338.63 kW.
DH FILE PHOTO FOR REPRESENTATION
Hubballi: While the country’s installed solar capacity has grown by an unprecedented 4000% over the past decade, only 3.5% major government buildings (district and taluk level offices) under Hubballi Electricity Supply Company Limited (Hescom) jurisdiction have been generating solar energy for their own utilisation.
The union government has mandated that all government departments install solar panels on their buildings to maximise the use of solar energy on government assets by December 2025. But the government buildings in Hescom jurisdiction, including those in Dharwad district, are far away from becoming self-reliant by generating their own power.
There are around 20,880 major government buildings (of which 19,275 have been found fit for installation of rooftop solar systems) in Bagalkot, Belagavi, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Uttara Kannada and Vijayapura districts. Among them, only 733 buildings have installed Solar rooftop photovoltaic (SRTPV) systems with a capacity of 6,803.12 kilowatt (kW).
Dharwad is the home district of Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy. The district has 2,232 major buildings of which only 98 have SRTPV systems with a installed capacity of 1,338.63 kW.
A senior officer told DH that respective government offices have to use their funds for installing SRTPV systems and there are no separate scheme for this purpose. The installation of the SRTPV system requires huge money, which is a major burden on most of the departments.
Hescom Managing Director Vyshali M L said that the deputy commissioners and chief executive officers of Zilla Panchayats ask all the government departments in every meeting to install rooftop solar systems, which is one-time investment and can be utilised for 25 years.
“We have been asking the Zilla Panchayats to come up with action plans and have requested the Public Works Department (PWD), which is a nodal agency, to promote the SRTPV system,” she noted.
Speaking to DH, Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi expressed his displeasure on the state government for not showing interest in installing the SRTPV system. “We can direct the state government, but cannot force them,” he said.
“The state governments should understand the benefits of the SRTPV system and should manage their funds to install solar panels. Moreover, conventional electricity costs around Rs 6 per unit while rooftop solar power costs around Rs 2.30 per unit. More than 90% of government offices run during the broad daylight hours. The excess solar
energy generated on weekends and holidays can be sold to generate revenue,” Joshi said added.