E-Paper
UP poised for rooftop solar makeover of govt buildings
The state unveils roadmap for solarisation of govt buildings to tap potential of 1550 MW solar power through rooftop systems
Uttar Pradesh has unveiled a comprehensive roadmap for solarisation of government buildings across the state, aiming to harness the vast potential of solar energy, officials dealing with the subject said.
They said the departments had been asked to identify their buildings by March 7 for installation and commissioning of solar rooftops by August 30, 2024, under the CAPEX business model and by April 15, 2025, under the RESCO model.
The CAPEX (Capital expenditures) model of solarisation means departments are required to allocate budgetary provisions within their departmental budgets for the upfront investment in solar infrastructure, whereas the RESCO (Renewable Energy Service Company) model involves partnering with external entities to facilitate the installation and maintenance of solar systems eliminating the need for departments to make upfront investments
“A decision in this regard was taken in a meeting chaired by chief secretary Durga Shankar Mishra last week,” a senior official said. “The officials of the alternative energy department also gave a presentation on the scenario of the solarisation of the government buildings in the state,” he added.
As per the presentation, the state boasts nearly 3 lakh government buildings presenting a substantial potential of 15,52,928 kw or 1550 mw solar power. Of them, as many 2,92,864 buildings are in the category of 1 to 24 kw power load, 3,526 buildings have 25-50 kw load, 1,287 have a load 51-100 kw, 633 buildings have load between 101-500 kw.
Similarly, 254 government buildings present load between 501 kw and 2,000 kw while contracted power load of 52 government buildings is 2001 kw and above.
However, the existing solar power load on government buildings in the state, as per the presentation, is a mere 144.85 MW.
“To bridge this gap, the government has adopted a two-pronged approach. For government buildings with a load ranging from 1 kW to 24 kW, the CAPEX model of solarisation has been recommended,” the official said.
“For larger government buildings, the government will explore the RESCO model,” he added.
The government has also set up implementation committees to ensure execution of the roadmap and timeline of all the activities.
A high-level executive committee to be headed by the chief secretary with members including additional chief secretaries/ principal secretaries/ secretaries of all the government departments with director, UPNEDA as member-secretary will review the progress every 6 months.
The state level committee to be headed by the additional chief secretary (renewable energy) with members of the committee including state nodal officers of all departments, MD UPPCL, MD of DISCOMs, will review every month. Similarly, the District level committee to be headed by district magistrate/ CDO will review implementation of the solarization of government buildings every month.
The UP Solar Policy, 2022, aims to promote solar rooftop projects through net metering, net billing and gross metering mechanism. The policy has the total target of 6,000 mw in the five-year policy period for solar rooftop system, 4,500 from residential rooftops 4,500 and 1,500 MW government, commercial and industrials rooftops.
