The Hindu 19.01.2012
Coimbatore Corpn. begins efforts to tap solar energy
A 2.7 kwh windmill and 0.5 kwh solar power system are two renewable
energy sources that help the Coimbatore Corporation to provide lighting
at the Mettupalayam Road bus stand.- Photo: K. Ananthan
The Coimbatore Corporation is moving towards the status
of a “Solar city”, which is aimed at reducing the conventional energy
consumption by a minimum of 10 per cent at the end of five years,
through a combination of enhancing supply from renewable energy sources
and energy efficiency measures. The initiative will get funding from the
Centre.
The project planning and implementation is
being closely monitored by Mayor S.M. Velusamy and Corporation
Commissioner T.K. Ponnusamy. A total of 60 cities and towns are selected
for “Solar City” initiative and Coimbatore is the only city from Tamil
Nadu. Cities with up to 50 lakh population are chosen for this project.
Relaxation on the population criterion has been done for the thinly
populated North Eastern and hill States.
A master
plan for Solar City initiative is in the final stages. It has as the
baseline the energy consumption during 2008 and forecasts the energy
demand in 2013 and 2018. The plan will have sector-wise action plan for
implementation of renewable energy projects so as to reduce fossil fuel
consumption. Areas of energy consumption, avenues for efficiency,
tapping renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass, small
hydro and power from waste will be the top agenda of the solar city
programme, says C. Sellakrishnan, Project coordinator for Solar City.
With
the Corporation area having been expanded, the civic body has now taken
up 26,520 street lights from the added areas. It already has 37,753
street lights in the earlier city limits. Currently, the civic body’s
power bill is around Rs 4.2 crore and maintenance is Rs 3 crore. With
the expanded city area, the power charges are likely to cross a whopping
Rs 10 crore mark. The Corporation is now pushing the renewable energy
agenda after the contractor for street lights maintenance could not
ensure the projected energy conservation. There are 827 borewells in the
corporation area and the energy audit on the 3 MW to 5 MW submersible
pumps in two wards carried out by International Council for Local
Environment Initiatives had indicated that 25 to 55 per cent improvement
was possible in these borewells and the recommendations are under
implementation in 18 bore wells.
Coimbatore
Corporation has already made a beginning to tap wind power energy and
solar energy at its Mettupalayam Road bus stand. Corporation has a 3 kw
wind power generator and 0.5 kw solar PV panels. This initiative has
helped the Corporation meet the energy needs of 36 of the 72 lights and
15 fans at the Mettupalayam Road bus stand. The Jawaharlal Nehru
National Urban Renewal Mission office in the Corporation main office
building, a 45 KVA energy saver for reducing 15 per cent of the
consumption of power for air-conditioners, computers and lights. Now
Corporation has plans to emulate the same example at Gandhipuram,
Ukkadam and Singanallur bus stands to reduce demand on conventional
energy.
