PEDA initiative: Solar power installation programme gets boost, 15 govt buildings install plants in Amritsar
Neeraj Bagga
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, September 24
Punjab Energy Development Authority (PEDA) has equipped 15 government buildings with solar energy plants in Amritsar under the Smart City project with the aim of cutting down reliance on costly conventional power and promoting solar energy.
To cut expenses on electricity tariff, solar power is gradually replacing conventional sources of energy and the government has been equipping its own buildings with solar power to promote renewable sources of energy.
Yashpal, District Manager, PEDA, said under the Smart City project, 15 government institutions have so far been equipped with solar plants. These are Guru Nanak Hospital, Mental Hospital, Civil Hospital, Ram Lal Eye Hospital, War Memorial, Municipal Corporation, Improvement Trust, Government Dental College, Dental College (Girls hostel), Dental College (Boys hostel), Police stations B, C and D divisions, Polytechnic College and ADA Bhawan.
Commenced in 2015 with an insignificant production of some Kilowatt (kW), the city now has over 1,200 grid rooftop solar (RTS) connections with 43 MW load. Out of these, two mega solar plants are at Dera Radha Soami Satsang, Beas, with a combined capacity of about 2 MW.
Both the Union and the state governments have been promoting the transition from conventional to solar power as it is environment friendly and also costs less.
There is no denying the fact that the number of those opting for solar power has come down since free power was introduced in the district. For instance, there were 944 grid rooftop solar (RTS) connections here till July 2022. Since the introduction of free power scheme, only 264 connections had been added.
Non-government institutions are also adopting solar energy. Punjab Naatshala has adopted green and clean energy by switching over to solar power for its energy consumption. It installed a 20 kW solar power panel to cut down on 75 per cent of its power expenses.
Khalsa College Governing Council (KCGC), which runs 18 educational institutions, switched over to solar energy for a majority of its institutions. Guru Nanak Dev University also got a rooftop solar power plant of 3 MW capacity installed under the Union Government’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) in 2018.
In 2019, the Punjab State War Memorial and Museum became the first government building in the city to use solar power under the Smart City project. In 2021, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, in association with the United Sikh Mission, USA, took a lead by installing a solar power plant on the Golden Temple premises. It plans to install similar solar panels in other gurdwaras managed by it.
Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International airport, Amritsar railway station, and several other government-run institutions have installed solar grid rooftop.
Going solar
Yashpal, District Manager, PEDA, said under the Smart City project, 15 government institutions have so far been equipped with solar plants. These are Guru Nanak Hospital, Mental Hospital, Civil Hospital, Ram Lal Eye Hospital, War Memorial, Municipal Corporation, Improvement Trust, Government Dental College, Dental College (Girls hostel), Dental College (Boys hostel), Police stations B, C and D divisions, Polytechnic College and ADA Bhawan.
