Soon, city residents to get solar power plants at no cost
City residents will soon get an option to install rooftop solar plant for free. The UT Administration is set to kick off the New Year with an ambitious plan to promote solar energy. Plants generation 10 MW solar power will be installed in residential areas through the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model.
The Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) had approved this scheme in 2022, but its implementation was delayed due to pending guidelines from the Centre. With the recent approval, the project is set to be fast-tracked.
Under the RESCO model, residents can install solar power plants on their rooftops without incurring any costs. Private companies, empanelled by the Chandigarh Renewable Energy Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST) through a tender process, will install and maintain the plants for 15 years. During this period, homeowners will benefit from fixed electricity rates, shielding them from potential tariff hikes. After the 15-year period, the solar plants will become the property of the homeowners.
Currently, the city generates 75 MW of electricity through solar plants. The Administration aims at increasing this capacity to 120 MW by the end of this year. Apart from 10 MW capacity to be added through the RESCO model, another 13 MW of solar plants will be installed at water works and over 20 MW will be set up under the PM Surya Ghar Yojana.
To further promote solar energy, the Administration is amending building bylaws to make solar plant installation mandatory for houses measuring 250 sq yards and above. Educational institutions, government buildings and private establishments with an electricity load exceeding 30 kilowatts will also need to
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