Trivandrum to become solar city
Trivandrum- In order to save energy, the Ministry of New and Renewable energy (MNRE) is taking initiatives to make Trivandrum a solar powered city.
The decision has been taken and a master plan would be drawn within the next six months. The Trivandrum corporation would implement the project by hiring a company. As per sources, MNRE has already enlisted Darashaw and Company Pvt. Ltd. to prepare the master plan for the city.
The master plan would be prepared in a prescribed format which will provide total and sector wise projections for energy demand and supply for the next 10 years. The city will be classified into various sectors namely commercial, residential, municipal and industrial.
The project will be aided by a Solar City Cell and Solar City Stakeholders Committee formed in the city a year ago. The government will take up measures like information and awareness campaigns for people who are concerned with the project. Additionally, it will also conduct training programmes, workshops and business meets.
The estimated cost of this project in Trivandrum is around Rs 50 lakh. Around Rs 20 lakh has been allotted to implement promotional activities, workshops, trainings, study tours and to augment the activities of the Solar City Cell for a period of three years.
About 10 lakh each would be awarded for preparation of master plan, oversight of implementation for three years and setting up of Solar City Cell.
By using solar energy, a household can run its fan, light and water heater for the day. A household can generate up to five Kilowatt hour (KWh) during a day. The running cost of solar system is just half as compared to diesel genset.
Along with Trivandrum, many other cities are under various stages of implementation of solar project. For instance, Mysore has already finalised its master plan. London, New York and 200 other cities have decided to reduce carbon emission by 20 percent till 2010.
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Ministry of New and Renewable energy, MNRE, Solar City Cell, Trivandrum, Trivandrum Corporation
