The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation is on the lookout for a suitable
firm to create a master plan for the ambitious Solar City project which
aims at tapping solar power and, in the long run, lessening the city’s
dependence on conventional energy sources.
A Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy (MNRE) project, Thiruvananthapuram is one of 48 cities
in the country and two in the state – the other is Kochi – shortlisted
to become Solar Cities. The City Corporation on Wednesday invited
Expressions of Interest (EoI) from empanelled agencies for preparing a
detailed master plan for transforming Thiruvananthapuram into a ‘city of
the sun.’
After being selected for the project last year, the
city council had adopted resolutions for forming a ‘Solar City Cell’ and
a ‘Solar City Stakeholders Cell’ towards 2012 end. Every city
shortlisted for the project stands to get Rs 50 lakh financial
assistance from the MNRE. Of this, Rs 10 lakh is for preparing a master
plan.
‘’The idea is to tap solar energy as much as possible and
encourage individuals and institutions to do this. The capital city’s
electricity consumption is soaring and the Corporation’s power bill
itself has witnessed an increase by Rs 2-3 crore per year,’’ said
Corporation works standing committee chairman V S Padmakumar.
The
MNRE initiative aims at lowering a city’s use of conventional energy
sources by ten per cent in five years by exploiting the sun and through
energy conservation measures.
The features of a Solar City include
solar-powered streetlights, green buildings and grid-connected rooftop
solar projects. Many such projects have already been independently
launched in the city. Additionally, the State Government has also
announced a state-wide Solar Homes project for installing rooftop solar
power units in households.
Alongside solar power, wind energy,
bio-mass, small hydel projects and waste-to-energy projects also will be
encouraged in the endeavour to make the city energy-sufficient.
