Chandigarh: From February 20, get rooftop solar power plant installed for free

Tribune News Service

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Chandigarh, February 8

The UT Administration has set a target to generate an additional 40 MWp (megawatt peak) solar power in the city in two years. To achieve the target, it will soon start installation of rooftop solar power plants free of cost at houses under the Renewable Energy Services Company (RESCO) model.

“Four companies have been empanelled for grid-connected rooftop solar power plants of capacity ranging from 1kWp to 500kWp. The work is likely to start on February 20,” said TC Nautiyal, Director, Environment, UT.

Over 1,200 applications already in

• Firms will install rooftop solar plants on the build, operate and transfer (BOT) model
• They will recover cost of installation during BOT period through sale of power generated by the plants
• More than 1,200 applications have been received for installation of plants
• House owners will get electricity at a consistent rate of Rs 3.23 per unit during the BOT period
• Later, ownership of solar plant will get transferred to the consumer at no additional cost

A road map was prepared to generate 40MWp solar power in the city in two years, he added. The Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) had in January last year granted approval to the Chandigarh Renewable Energy Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST) for the installation of grid-connected rooftop solar plants in the city for domestic consumers by a third party under the build, operate and transfer (BOT) model of RESCO.

Four firms finalised for project

Four firms have been empanelled for grid-connected rooftop solar power plants of capacity ranging from 1kWp to 500kWp. —TC Nautiyal, Director, Environment, UT

The cost of installation will be recovered by the selected firm during the BOT period through the sale of electricity generated by these plants. The move is aimed at generating 13 MWp of solar power. CREST has already received more than 1,200 applications for installation of rooftop solar plants. Under the RESCO model, house owners will get electricity at a consistent rate of Rs 3.23 per unit during the BOT period. They will have to provide space on the rooftop to the firm.

Once the BOT period concludes, the ownership of the solar plant will get transferred to the consumer at no additional cost. Under the new model, the house owner will have to provide nearly 500 sq ft of space for a 5kWp solar plant.

The UT Administration is also in the process of installing rooftop solar power plants on nearly 4,000 government houses in the city with an aim to generate about 12 MWp. At present, solar plants have been installed on 600 houses.

The Administration had set a target to achieve 75 MWp generation by December last year, but failed to achieve it. At present, more than 61 MWp solar power capacity had been installed in the city. The Administration has aimed at achieving 90MWp by the end of 2024 and 115 MWp by the end of 2025. Among all union territories, Chandigarh tops the country in solar power generation.

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