PWD to install nine solar trees in Delhi cantonment area at ₹10lakh per tree
PWD plans to install nine solar trees in Delhi Cantonment, costing over ₹10 lakh each, to beautify the area and generate clean energy.
The Public Works Department (PWD) plans to install nine solar trees in the Delhi Cantonment area with each unit expected to cost more than ₹10 lakh. Officials said that the project is expected to be completed by next month and it will serve the dual role of beautifying public space while generating clean energy while also functioning as street lights.
A senior PWD official said that the project is being executed with MLA Local Area Development funds.
“These solar trees will be four to five metres high and each will have at least 10 branches comprising leaves in the form of photovoltaic panels. Each module will be of 100-watt power,” the official added. PWD has invited bids for the project costing ₹91,84,369.
Delhi Cantt MLA Virender Kadiyan said that the trees will operate on hybrid mode. “They will generate solar power but also light up using normal electricity supply when sunlight is disrupted. These trees light up like flowers in night. We are installing these trees along the road which frequently see VIP movement from the airport. Some trees are being added to public parks,” he added.
“The trunk of each tree will be made of 20 cm thick poles. These trunks will be at least three metres high and be placed on a concrete base. The trunks will then branch out in one-metre-long designer branches over which the four-feet-wide solar leaves will come up. The solar power module will be connected to the base with ten batteries to store the power generated during the day,” a PWD official said.
A second municipal official said that the department will have to work out a solution for accumulating dust on the solar panels. According to the project report of PWD, each solar tree branch will comprise solar photovoltaic modules of 100-watt power and 12 volts output.
New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) had installed its first solar tree in 2018 under the Smart City project in Connaught Place near Metro gate number 7. An NDMC official said that the solar tree project was installed with the help of Steel Authority of India and Electronics Corporation of India Limited.
“The steel for the project was donated by SAIL and technical inputs were provided by electronics India limited. The solar tree has sitting area, street light and mobile charging facility. We had also developed a model solar bus stop with solar roofs and walls at Shanti Path. Both these projects were meant to raise awareness about solar energy,” the NDMC official added. But the NDMC solar tree project was not replicated in other locations.