THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Power minister Aryadan Muhammad said that the Solar scandal had not affected the Roof Top Solar project. He said that the state had created an installed capacity of 8.5 MW as against the target of 10 MW.
"We had received over 18,200 applications for setting up toof-top solar plants. We have installed the plant upon 8500 households that have got approval," the minister said in the Assembly on Tuesday. "We have already achieved 8.5 MW and are closely moving towards our target of 10 MW," he added.
The project involved the installation of 1 Kw solar energy plants on the roofs of 10,000 houses by 2013-14. The plan was to generate 6 units of electricity from each household carrying the mini solar plant on its roof.
The power generated by the solar panels, it was initially stated, would be directly routed to the KSEB’s distribution network. However, the minister said on Tuesday that the project introduced through the 2011-12 budget was not grid-connected.
A one-KW solar energy plant will require a space of around 10 metre square. The main components of the plant are solar panels and a control invertor which will route the power generated in the solar panels into the transmission system of KSEB.
A battery is not required as the power generated in the mornings is instantly taken to the KSEB network. The estimated cost of a I Kw plant will be below Rs 2 lakh. One-third of the cost will be met by central subsidy. The state government will pitch in with an equal share.
