The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has reportedly announced its ambitious plan to set up “solar drains” and “solar farms”. SDMC will also cover municipal buildings with panels to generate clean power.
Standing committee chairperson Shikha Ra speaking to TOi said “We will cover drains in Greater Kailash and Subhash Nagar with solar panels. Solar fields will be set up on corporation-owned lands in Ghummanhera and Faridabad. Funds for these projects will be raised via municipal bonds.”
According to the report two mini-solar drain projects will be installed at a cost of approximately Rs 7 crore can generate 1.25MW of clean power.
Both covered and uncovered portions of GK drains will be able to generate approximately 0.5MW and the project is expected to cost SDMC Rs 2.75 crore. While the Subhash Nagar drain, which is much longer, will generate 0.75MW and come up at a cost Rs 4.13 crore says the report.
Solar farms are expected to collectively produce 26 MW of power.
A senior corporation official speaking to the publication said “The Ghumanhera land was handed over to us by the Delhi government on lease for setting up a landfill. Since that plan has now moved to Tehkhand, this land will be used for a 20MW solar farm. The study for this project is being carried out by the Solar Energy Corporation of India,”
The corporation also plans to set up 7.5MW solar panels on 166 municipal buildings. Currently, 55 SDMC buildings — 54 schools and one community centre — have solar rooftop panels, which were set up at a cost of Rs 12 crore. The corporation now plans to install solar panels over rooftops of more than 400 buildings, including primary schools, community centres and zonal offices by June 2019.