The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is turning to ‘sun power’ in Thiruvananthapuram.
On Monday,the state-run power company will begin construction on its first solar power project in the district which will feed power into the grid. Deputy Speaker Palode Ravi will inaugurate the construction of the 2 megawatt (MW) facility at the Pothencode 220 KV sub-station campus. Power generated from the facility will be fed into the KSEB grid, KSEB officials said.
KSEB had earlier inaugurated smaller solar units atop buildings including its HQ ‘Vydyuti Bhavanam’ at Pattom. But those projects were mainly intended to power the in-house needs of the respective buildings. The 2 MW facility at Pothencode is part of a state-wide initiative to install solar panels on land and buildings owned by it, KSEB officials said.
“The 2 MW solar power unit at Pothencode cost approximately Rs 12 crore. The electricity generated will supplement the grid supply to the public,” KSEB executive engineer (renewable energy) Vipin Shankar said. Last year, KSEB had announced plans to tap solar power in a big way. As part of this, the utility is encouraging the installation of solar power panels atop government buildings.
But a much bigger and ambitious project involves using its own property, including dam reservoirs, to set up larger solar power projects. The first such project, having a capacity of 1 MW was commissioned at Kanjikode in Palakkad.
And more recently, the KSEB inaugurated the first floating solar power plant in the country on a dam reservoir at the Banasurasagar dam in Wayanad district. The KSEB has plans to install more solar power projects on its campuses in Thiruvananthapuram district, KSEB officials said. KSEB chairman and managing director M Sivasankar, KSEB directors and other officials will be present.
Specifics of the project
Capacity: 2 MW
Cost: approximately Rs 12 crore
Supply: Power generated from the facility will be fed into the KSEB grid
Place: Set up at the Pothencode 220 KV sub-station campus
The earlier projects
KSEB had earlier inaugurated smaller solar units atop buildings including its HQ ‘Vydyuti Bhavanam’ at Pattom
The utility is encouraging the installation of solar power panels atop government buildings
Project having a capacity of 1 MW commissioned at Kanjikode in Palakkad
KSEB inaugurated the first floating solar power plant in the country on a dam reservoir at the Banasurasagar dam in Wayanad district
Sub-station at Vilakkulam
Electricity Minister will inaugurate the construction of a 33 KV sub-station at Vilakkulam in Varkala on Tuesday. The new sub-station will significantly address voltage issues in the region, KSEB officials said.