Plan to make Gandhinagar the first 'solar city'

The state has envisaged a plan to make the state capital Gandhinagar the first 'solar city' of the country. A blueprint for the Rs 325 crore project has also been presented to the state government.

Vadodara-based agency for promotion of non-conventional energy, Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA) has designed the blue print to reduce the power consumption in Gandhinagar.

"The proposed ambitious plan would create the state capital as a first 'solar city' in India where the major necessities of power will be fulfilled through non-conventional sources of energy. At present, Gandhinagar, the base of major state government establishments, is consuming over four megawatt power every day. With implementation of proposed plan the dependency of the state capital from the electricity power would be reduced to the negligible levels," said S B Patil, deputy director of GEDA who is a part of the team that has designed blue print.

The blue print has been forwarded to the department of energy and petrochemicals, State of Gujarat for further actions.

"Under the proposed plan, which was conceptualised by the state government, GEDA has proposed to provide electricity to all major establishments in the city through the power generated from solar energy."

In the survey, GEDA covered state government offices, schools and hospitals, which are the major consumers of power," said Patil.

The proposal includes the commissioning of photovoltaic power plant with capacity of one megawatt to cater to the power need of the city.

The proposal also includes distribution of solar cooker and solar water heaters to the establishments such as schools, hospitals, hostels and guesthouses.

Speaking about the implementation body of the plans proposed by GEDA, Patil said," The department of energy and petrochemicals will decide about the agency to execute the plans. However, the state government has formed a committee under the leadership of collector of Gandhinagar to carry forward the idea coined by the state government."

It is believed that the state government may involve the department of public works, GEDA and Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd in the execution of the project.