Solar panels, totalling 1.5 Megawatt (MW), were installed at five city gurdwaras managed by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) on Wednesday.
“By the end of this year, we will have a solar power capacity of 3 MW, which will fulfil 70% of our total requirement,” said Harjit Singh, head of the ‘renewable energy wing’ of the DSGMC.
“The project was undertaken by two companies — Sukhbir Agro Energy Limited (SAEL) and Macea,” said Mr. Singh.
“The cost of the project was above ₹5.5 crore taking into account the specific aesthetic requirements of the gurdwara committee,” a release by SAEL said.
Under the subsidy scheme of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, 30-25% of the total amount was subsidised through Central Financial Assistance.
The company will run the project for a period of 25 years, during which it will recover the cost through a monthly tariff. After this, the plant will be handed over to the DSGMC.
While the DSGMC was paying an average of about ₹10.50 per unit of electricity, it is now expected to pay about ₹3.80 per unit, according to Mr. Singh.
The institutions with the solar panels will now be charged on a ‘Net metering’ basis.
This means if an individual entity produces more energy than it requires, the excess energy will be sent back to the grid.
The amount finally charged will be on the difference between (net of) the energy consumed versus the energy sent back to the grid.
“The plant is expected to generate 20,000 units of ‘green energy’ annually, resulting in annual savings of ₹1 crore. Over the life cycle of the plant, 45,000 metric tonnes (MT) of carbon emission would be reduced,” the SAEL release said.
Regarding tenders, Mr. Singh said, they will only be floated after July.
