Rooftop solar panels on all govt houses in Chandigarh by December

Contributing to the city’s green energy goals, the UT Administration has planned to achieve 80 MWp of rooftop solar capacity by the end of 2024.

TC Nautiyal, Secretary, Science & Technology and Renewable Energy, chaired a review meeting with Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society (CREST) to assess the progress of key initiatives, including rooftop solar power plant installations, EV charging infrastructure, and citizen compliance with renewable energy mandates.

Navneet Kumar Srivastava, Director, Science & Technology and Renewable Energy-cum-CEO, CREST, gave a brief presentation.

As of today, Chandigarh has achieved 69 MWp of installed rooftop solar power plant capacity. Officials reaffirmed that the targets set by the Centre for full rooftop solar saturation at government buildings in the city were to be achieved by December this year and in the private sector by December next year.

In terms of sustainable transport, it was informed that 20 EV charging stations are already energised and fully operational across Chandigarh. An additional four to five charging stations will be energised by the next week, significantly enhancing the city’s electric vehicle infrastructure.

The city’s leadership in electric vehicle adoption, which is 14.8% from April to October 2024, the highest among all states and UTs, was also highlighted during the meeting.

Concerns related to delay in meter installations, solar user charges being levied on occupants of government houses and rectification of solar projects where theft had occurred previously were also discussed.