Haryana to replace diesel-based captive power with solar energy

The Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (Hareda) has decided to set up three solar power projects of 225 Kw capacity in Gurgaon district under a scheme launched to motivate commercial/industrial establishments to use solar energy, which is environment-friendly.

According to Haryana Renewable Energy and Power Minister Mahender Partap Singh, these project would be set up at a cost of over Rs 5.9 crore. Hareda has already received sanction from the ministry of new and renewable energy for setting up these projects.

Two projects of 100 Kw each would be set up at Omax Autos Ltd, Manesar, and Automax, Village Binola, at a cost of Rs 2.6 crore each and the third project of 25 Kw capacity would be set up at SERCO BPO Pvt Ltd, Gurgaon, at a cost of Rs 88.50 lakh, he added.

The objective of the scheme was to encourage the commercial and industrial establishments to replace their diesel generating sets installed for their captive requirement during outages with solar photovoltaic power plants, said Mahender Partap Singh, adding that several cities and towns were facing electricity shortage during peak hours and they used diesel-based generating sets, which caused pollution.

He said the initial cost of these systems being higher, which varied between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh per Kw, subsidy at the rate of Rs one lakh per Kw or 40 per cent of the project cost, whichever was lowest, was provided to the non-profit institutes and subsidy at the rate of Rs 75, 000 per Kw or 30 per cent of the project cost, whichever was lowest was provided to the profit-making organisations.

The minister said interaction meet was organised by Hareda at Gurgaon to create awareness of solar energy among the industries, mall owners, builders, hospitals, nursing homes and other commercial establishments and, five solar power projects were prepared and sanction for two more such projects was under consideration of the ministry. One project of 30 Kw would be set up at Ram Bhagwan Charitable Institute of Cancer , Mirpur, Rewari and another project of 50 Kw at Retreat, Teri, Village-Gwal Pahari, Gurgaon. Singh appealed to the industries and commercial establishments to get these plants installed in their premises and proposals for availing subsidy on these projects should be submitted to Hareda.