Industrialists want more time to install rooftop solar power plants

FARIDABAD: Only a handful organisations came forward to install rooftop solar power plant prior to the deadline of December 31 fixed by the state government for setting up of rooftop solar energy plant by industry or institutional sector.

Bijendra Ahlawat

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, January 9

Only a handful organisations came forward to install rooftop solar power plant prior to the deadline of December 31 fixed by the state government for setting up of rooftop solar energy plant by industry or institutional sector.

The Faridabad Industries Association (FIA) has demanded extension of the deadline by a year.

The state government, which had unveiled the solar power plant scheme in August 2015, had warned of action like disconnection of power supply to industrial, commercial and institutional units, which failed to go for solar energy plant by December 31, 2016. It has now renewed its appeal to the industry to adopt the solar project scheme immediately.

During a meeting with the FIA here recently, Ankur Gupta, Principal Secretary, Department of Renewable Energy, asked industrialists to get rooftop solar plants installed in the minimum possible time to avail of the benefit available under the project.

While the FIA representatives asked for revision of the deadline up to December 31 this year, Gupta was non-committal. He, however, said rooftop solar energy plant could help the industry to tide over the crisis related to power cuts and bills.

He said the government was ready to buy back the additional solar power from the consumers through net metering system.

According to sources in the department, the state government is in no mood to punish or impose penalty on those who have failed to install solar power plant so far and has decided to adopt a liberal stand on it as the industry sector has assured full cooperation.

According to PC Sharma, the project officer in the department, during the past a year and a half, solar power units have either been installed on or sanctioned for 105 establishments.

The city has over 2,500 medium or big units at present. While the installed capacity varies from 25 kW to 500 kW, the government provides subsidy up to 30 per cent of the total cost of the plant or Rs 25,000 per kW, whichever is lower. While the plant capacity sanctioned per unit is around five per cent of the total power load, it is claimed that consumers in the categories of domestic, institutional and social organisations are eligible for the subsidy benefit.