Hyderabad: Hyderabad city has a potential to switch to rooftop solar power of 1,730 Megawatt (MW). If this is done, the power demand of the city can be reduced by 15 per cent, shows a study done by Greenpeace and Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute.
According to a Greenpeace India report ‘Rooftop Revolution: Unleashing Hyderabad’s Rooftop Potential’ released on Wednesday, the total rooftop solar potential of the city is 1,730 MW. For residents, solar power would cut down the electricity bills considerably.
Some of the city landmarks that can be used to achieve this are Osmania University, airports, railways,metro stations and bus depots. During the study, Greenpeace India and GERMI scanned the area under Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and estimated that an average of 2.70 MW per sq. km. can easily be generated by installing rooftop solar panels. A big share of this, nearly 70 per cent, can come from the residential sector, shows the study.
The monthly PM10 data for 2016 from 11 cities and districts of Telangana reveals that Hyderabad had the highest annual Particulate Matter (PM) levels and also recorded the highest peak levels during November 2016.
This is 17 per cent higher than the daily standard and almost twice as high as the annual standard. “Switching to solar power will also help contribute to the India’s overall rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) goal of 40 GW by 2022 which is crucial for India’s voluntary contribution to the Paris Agreement,” said Pujarini Sen, Climate and Energy Campaigner, Greenpeace India.
