After Amritsar and Ludhiana, the centre has given its nod to the Punjab government’s plan to develop Mohali as a solar city.
As per the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy scheme, 50 per cent of the total project cost(upto Rs 9 crore) would be borne by the Centre while the remaining would be funded by the state government.
Speaking to Business Standard, Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA), Director, Balour Singh said,"The centre has recently sanctioned the project to develop Mohali as solar city. We have already floated tenders for appointing consultant for preparation of master plan of the project. We hope that the process would be completed very soon."
The master plan would be initially prepared by a consultant for the city and thereafter the state will approach the centre for funding purpose.
The master plan prepared by the consultant will set a goal of minimum 10 per cent reduction in projected total demand of conventional energy, which is to be achieved at the end of five years.
Further, the program on "Development of Solar Cities" would support and encourage urban local bodies to prepare a road map to guide their cities in becoming ‘renewable energy cities’ or ‘solar cities’ or ‘eco-green cities’.
After the master plan is prepared, it would be discussed before the Stakeholders Consultation Workshop, having representation from elected representatives, local academic institutions, resident welfare associations, industries and corporate organisations and NGOs.
The master plan for the city which would include complete information about the population of the city and energy consumption by industries as well as domestic and commercial households.
It is also expected to provide a complete sector-wise base-line on energy utilization and GHG(green house gases) emissions in the city. Also, year-wise targets for energy conservation, renewable energy addition and GHG abatement along with the action plan for implementation will be clearly brought out in the Master Plan.
Potential sources of funding from both public and private organisations are also expected to be identified in the master plan. This involves predicting the energy demand in the coming years and estimating the demand and growth in energy use in different sectors.
