Plan to generate solar power from Soudha rooftop

Bengaluru Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) has drawn up a plan to generate power on the rooftop of Vidhana Soudha, MS Building and Legislators’ Home, Energy Minister D K Shivakumar said on Tuesday.

In a written reply to Jayamala of Congress in the Legislative Council, he said Bescom is planning to set up 330 kilo watt-capacity solar power unit. An estimated 44,550 units of electricity could be generated. These buildings would become almost self-reliant in power once this project is implemented, he added.

Currently, the three buildings consume about 3,02,999 units of power per month (Vidhana Soudha - 1,32,889 units, M S Building - 71,704 units and Legislators’ Home - 98,406 units). The monthly bill for power consumption is about Rs 31.83 lakh. The government would be able to save Rs 3.15 lakh per month if the project is implemented, he explained.

To another question by JD(S) member R Chowda Reddy Tuppalli, the minister admitted that the project to generate solar power by involving farmers is getting delayed. The farmers, who have signed a memorandum of understanding with the government to generate solar power, have not been able to get necessary clearances from various departments. Besides, the process to give land use conversion order is getting delayed in some districts, he said.

The government has selected 154 beneficiaries under the project which envisages generating 306 MW of power. But about 70 beneficiaries have already implemented their projects with a total power capacity of 140 mega watt, he added.

Shivakumar said the government has recently revised the Karnataka Solar Policy 2014-21 and set a target to generate 6,000 MW of solar power. Solar power projects would be implemented under distributed-generation approach wherein electricity generated would be supplied to the local community. The move is expected to help the government cope with the problem of peak-hour demand, he noted.

Besides, generation of only up to 200 mega watt solar power would be allowed in each taluk, excluding projects implemented on solar roof tops. Permission would be accorded on first-come-first-serve basis. This has been done to ensure that solar power is generated across all taluks of the state, he said.

PM to inaugurate solar park

Energy Minister Shivakumar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would inaugurate solar power park at Pavagad in Tumakuru district. The park would start generating 600 mega watt of power from June this year in the first phase. By this year-end, the park would generate 2,000 MW. The minister, however, did not reveal the date on which Modi would inaugurate the park.