KALPETTA: In a bid to meet daily lectricity requirement, government offices in Wayanad are switching to green energy. As many as 83 institutions including schools, police stations, hospitals and other government offices will soon be lit up with solar energy in the hill district, thanks to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB)’s ambitious ‘Soura’ scheme. With commissioning of the solar power plants, KSEB is targeting to generate 1.8 MW electricity.
KSEB has completed the first phase of its ambitious scheme in the district by setting up 100 plants by spending Rs8 crore. As per the plan, 90% of total electricity generated from the grid connected plants will be taken by KSEB while the remaining 10% will be utilised to meet the power requirement of respective offices, said Soura scheme district project engineer N K Chandradas.
The officer added the project is part of the efforts to make use of solar energy to meet electricity demand of government offices and institutions.“Eighty-three rooftop solar power plants are planned in the first phase. Of them, construction of 40 plants having 0.6 MW capacity has already been completed, while the work on the remaining 43 plants is nearing completion. It is expected that 72,000 units of electricity can be generated from 40 plants per month.
The166 KW plant at the Government Hospital, Mananthavady is the biggest among the plants,” said the officer. In the next phase of the scheme, KSEB is planning to provide subsidy to set up household solar rooftops in the district. As per the scheme, 40% of total expenditure will be taken by Central government while 60% should be spent by beneficiaries. Interested persons can register through e-kiran web portal.
Through the scheme, KSEB aims to tap solar energy for household consumption by setting up rooftop solar panels at residential buildings. The KSEB officials will select the participants of the project after site inspection and feasibility study at the buildings.