CREST likely to ink pact with CHB for rooftop solar plant installation in Chandigarh
To generate sustainable energy and environmental leadership, the UT Administration and the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST) have planned to install rooftop solar power plants atop buildings of the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB).
According to officials, negotiations were going on with the CHB for installation of rooftop solar panels under the rent-a-roof scheme. Both organisations were likely to sign an agreement soon, they said, and added that CREST had recently sign one with the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh for installation of solar plants on 97 of its buildings, including community centres.
With the installation of solar panels, key departments like the Education Department, have reduced their power bills to zero and are even selling surplus electricity back to the grid.
The city has already installed solar plants on 6,606 residential buildings and offices under the UT Administration scheme and collectively generating 52.825 MW of solar energy. With the generation of 90 MW of total solar power — nearly 6 per cent of Chandigarh’s total power consumption — around Rs 35 crore have been saved annually.
The Administration has set a target to increase the solar power generation to 150 MW by 2026, including installations on private buildings. It aims to make Chandigarh a model solar city before 2030.
The city also led in floating solar power adoption. Last year, it had commissioned north India’s largest floating solar photovoltaic (SPV) plant with a capacity of 2.5 MWp at the Sector 39 waterworks. Building on it, an additional 3 MWp floating plant has been completed and is expected to be commissioned soon.
Under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, as many as 148 beneficiaries have already achieved zero electricity bills so far. A total of 957 households have been benefited with the installation of rooftop solar plants in Chandigarh.
Under the scheme, the Centre offers a subsidy of Rs 78,000 for installing a 3 kW plant, which costs around Rs 1.56 lakh.