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.