VIJAYAWADA: If everything goes as per the plan, Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam (SDMSD) atop Indrakeeladri will generate an additional income of around Rs 12 lakh per annum, besides saving Rs 1 crore in electricity expenses, after a solar plant is inaugurated on its premises soon.
The temple authorities have constructed a solar power plant of one-megawatt capacity at an estimated cost of Rs 5 crore in five acres of temple land at Pathapadu Veda Paatashala near Nunna. The installation works started in 2018.
“Only minor works such as the laying of power lines till Nunna sub-station and paperwork are left. It will take another week to finalise them and Minister for Endowments Kottu Satyanarayana will inaugurate the solar plant,” said a senior endowments official.
New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) and Durga temple had inked an agreement in 2016 to set up the solar power plant with a 20 per cent subsidy on the installation cost. The operation and maintenance of the plant will be entrusted to a bidder for a period of 10 years from the date of commissioning.
It is estimated that the solar plant will generate 16 lakh units of renewable energy per annum. The power generated through its solar panels will be transferred to a 33 KV electricity sub-station at Nunna.
“There will be an adjustment in the power bills of the temple on the basis of the energy consumed by the temple and its properties in Vijayawada. The surplus power will be given to the CPDCL. The temple will be earning more than Rs 12 lakh per annum with this. The cost of the unit energy can be revised later based on the quality of the power generated,” the temple authorities told TNIE.
At present, the devasthanam consumes around 13 lakh units of power per annum and its power bill amounts to more than Rs 1 crore. “Soon after the laying of electric lines, the plant will be commissioned and inaugurated in July. The commissioning was delayed by more than two years due to some reasons. We could have saved Rs 3 crore if the plant had come into operation three years ago,” an official opined.
Meanwhile, the endowments department is reportedly mulling building more such solar plants in the State to bring down power bills and promote renewable energy.