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Go green initiative: 13 Ludhiana police stations get rooftop solar power plants
The solar power plants were on Friday inaugurated by Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav at Jamalpur
In a first in the state, 13 police stations out of the total 28 falling under the Ludhiana Police commissionerate have been equipped with rooftop solar power plants that .will generate energy and save power.
The solar power plants were on Friday inaugurated by Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav at Jamalpur.
He said that Ludhiana is the first city in state to be equipped with the specially-enabled solar powered technology under ‘ujaala - ek changi shuruat’ scheme.
While talking to media, the DGP said that he has asked the commissioner of police Mandeep Singh Sidhu to bring all the 28 police stations and other wings under the scheme.
He said that the Punjab Police will make efforts to cover nearly 400 police stations of the state under the scheme.
Apart from Jamalpur, solar power plants have been installed at police stations Moti Nagar, PAU, Division number 1, division number 2, division number 5, division number 6, police station Sadar, Dugri, Model Town, Sahnewal, Shimlapuri and Division number 8.
The DGP said that the installation of 120-KW solar power plants in these police buildings would reduce carbon emissions amounting to 180 metric tonnes annually, besides reducing hefty electricity bills, resulting in saving ₹12 lakh annually. Installing 120 KW capacity solar power plants is equivalent to planting around 5,500 teak trees.
He said that these solar power plants have been set up under Net Metering Policy of PSPCL which allows eligible consumers to install rooftop solar photovoltaic (SPV) systems and offset their electricity consumption with the power generated from their solar panels.
Under net metering, power consumers are billed for the net amount of electricity consumed which will be the difference between the amount of electricity generated by the solar panels and the amount of electricity consumed from the solar grid.
The DGP expressed hope that these solar power plants will transform police stations as ‘green police stations’ and motivate others to adopt such renewable energy sources for making a clean and green Punjab.
Commissioner of Police Mandeep Singh Sidhu said that the power generated through these solar panels would replace conventional energy and provide backup power during shutdowns.
The Ludhiana Police had faced embarrassment in the past over electricity bills after the PSPCL had snapped power supply lines to three police stations, including police station Division number 1, 4 and 2, besides child and women cell in January 2019 due to pending bills of ₹7.72 crores. The solar power plants would help the police in reducing electricity bills.
