Chennai: Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board is all set to go green with the harnessing of solar power in all its building’s rooftops across the state.
The pollution board has planned to install a total of 193-kilo watt capacity grid connected rooftop solar photovoltaic systems in 18 buildings including at its headquarters in Guindy.
The TNPCB building at Arumbakkam will have 30 kw capacity rooftop solar plant while the building in Ambattur and Madurai will house 20 kw plant each. The headquarters building in Guindy will have 15 kw rooftop SPV system.
The rooftop solar plants are being installed in order to generate clean energy, to reduce electricity consumption charges and to feed excess power to the grid said a senior TNPCB official. As per the thumb rule, a kilowatt rooftop solar plant will generate five units a day in a normal sunny day. Since Tamil Nadu, which enjoys 300 sunny days, the 193 kw rooftop solar plants in TNPCB building will be able to generate 2.89 lakh units a day.
TNPCB will be approximately saving Rs 23.30 lakh a year as electricity charges considering the commercial tariff of Rs 8.05 per unit.
A senior Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA) official said that tenders have been floated for setting up of rooftop SPV systems in pollution control board’s district offices. “Many government departments are approaching us to install rooftop SPV systems as it offers enormous cost savings in terms of electricity bills,” the official said, adding that contract for installing 330 kw rooftop solar plant in Puzhal prison would be awarded soon.
TEDA had prepared a detailed project report to install 1,875 kw rooftop SPV plant in Central prisons at Vellore, Trichy, Coimbatore, Madurai, Palayamkottai, Cuddaore and Salem, special prison for women in Tiruchy and Vellore and Pudukottai Borstal School.
Rooftop solar system can help reduce electricity bills besides cutting down carbon emissions from conventional sources like coal, the TEDA official said.
About 10 square meter space is required for installing one kWp of solar rooftop system. Besides, the ministry of new and renewable energy is providing financial assistance of 15 per cent of the benchmark cost for installation of grid connected rooftop solar system/project on four categories of building—residential, institutional, government and social sector.
