UT aims to generate 15 MWp more solar power by Dec-end

The UT Administration has set an ambitious target to generate 15 megawatt peak (MWp) more solar power by the end of this year so as to achieve the aim of making Chandigarh a model solar city by 2030.

Chandigarh has achieved a cumulative solar power generation capacity of 90 MWp, distributed across 10,988 sites as of now. “This robust solar infrastructure has contributed 270.26 million units (MU) of clean energy, leading to an estimated reduction of 186,479 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions,” said Navneet Kumar Srivastava, Chief Executive Officer, Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST). The achievement was a testament to the city’s consistent progress toward its renewable energy targets, he said.

To further build on this momentum, around 15 MWp of solar capacity will be added by the end of December 2025, he said. “This expansion will primarily involve the installation of floating solar plant, installation of solar panels atop parking sheds, solar power plants on Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) buildings, utilising available rooftop spaces across Municipal Corporation buildings and other government buildings,” he added.

According to CREST officials, the city has also led the way in floating solar power adoption. On July 1 last year, the city had commissioned North India’s largest floating solar photovoltaic (SPV) plant with a capacity of 2.5 MWp at the Sector 39 Water Works. Building on it, an additional 3 MWp floating plant has been completed and is expected to be commissioned soon.

In the financial year 2024-25 alone, 28 MWp of new solar capacity generated 25 MU of clean energy, further propelling the city’s green transition. Under the Solar City Mission, the city reached another key milestone by achieving 100% solar saturation of all government residential buildings and offices as of December 31 last year.

The generation of 18.1 MWp with installation of solar panels atop 6,627 government sites, is expected to produce around 23.5 MUs of solar power annually. This clean energy not only reduced electricity costs, but resulted in estimated savings of Rs 12.69 crore each year.

The Administration has also successfully implemented rooftop solar power systems in government schools across the city. Of 114 schools, 108 were identified as feasible for rooftop solar installations and power plants have been commissioned on these premises. The solar energy consumption by these schools during the previous year was 6.1 MU and the generation was 7.32 MU, resulting in surplus power.

With the Union Ministry of Power including Chandigarh in the list of 34 cities to be developed as Solar Cities by 2030, the UT Administration has decided to achieve 100% rooftop solar panel saturation on all private buildings by December this year.