Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated Surat Municipal Corporation solar plants developed by Waaree Energies.
The Solar power plants are positioned at various locations in the city, which include three water distribution plants and 18 municipal schools, and cumulatively account for 1 MW of energy generation.
With the latest addition of the plants, the Surat Municipal Corporation has become the first Municipal Corporation in the country which is not dependent on any electricity company for water distribution.
The electricity generated through the solar power plants will be used for the city’s water works, water distribution centre, and water treatment plant.
Waaree Energies is the Turnkey Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) partner for the project, besides also extending its acclaimed maintenance and operation services for 10 years. The plants are expected to generate close to 1.20 Mega Units, which will result in an electricity cost saving of around INR 6 Lakhs per month.
The power plants are located across Magob Water Distribution Station, Simada Water Treatment Plant, and Udhna Water Distribution Station. With this transition to solar power, the plant at Udhna is witness to a reduction of 29% on its existing electricity consumption, while Simada has seen a reduction of 21%, and Magob of 23%. Being India’s largest Solar PV manufacturer, Waaree Energies has also contributed 2,925 Waaree Poly crystalline solar modules to the power plants. The project design was approved by TERI and was completed in record 50 days by Waaree, across all 18 sites.
Commenting on the occasion, Sunil Rathi, Director, Waaree Energies, said, “We are extremely honoured to have partnered with the Surat Municipal Corporation for the solar power projects. We were drawn to this project as Surat has been a frontrunner in the transition to renewable resources for energy generation, and is fast becoming a sustainable model smart city. This has helped the Government save approximately INR 6 Lakh per month. As such, we are very confident that projects like these will help bring about the transformation of the solar energy sector, and also generate the necessitated awareness among people.”