Additional Deputy Commissioner (Gurgaon) Vinay Pratap Singh, who is also the nodal officer of the Haryana Renewable Development Agency (HAREDA), has said that a single window “solar facilitation centre” would be opened at the Rajiv Gandhi Renewable Park near Leisure Valley here to promote solar energy.
Mr. Singh was speaking at a workshop titled “Getting Started on Energy Management and Solar” organised by the Gurgaon First, an NGO, in association with HAREDA. More than 120 delegates, including solar consultants, green architects and several residents’ welfare associations attended the workshop.
The event was organised to boost the use of solar energy in the city before September 31, by which date a State government order has asked buildings covering 500 square yards and above to switch to solar energy to cater to certain needs. The workshop helped in updating delegates about the latest guidelines of the State government, as well as clarifying doubts on subsidy issues. Mr. Singh also said that the local administration was focused on bringing energy management into focus in the city and coordinating the efforts of HAREDA with Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) to benefit residents, institutions and industries in Gurgaon.
Balwant Singh, Chief Engineer, DHBVN informed that the net-metering policy had been clarified by the State regulator and the utility will soon come out with specifications for dual-meters, which could deal with both conventional and solar energy. With this, consumers could feed surplus energy into the grid and be compensated for it in their energy bills.
O.D. Sharma, Project Director, HAREDA, said that solar energy should be installed given its merit and not because of its subsidy support.
Rajendra Kaura, vice-president, Solar Energy Society of India, said: “The cell and module industry should come up in a big way in Haryana. This will contribute to the employment and socio-economic upliftment of the State. Engineering colleges should take up solar generation on rooftops. Besides, farmers in Haryana villages could have solar rooftops on their storage facilities and make additional revenues.”
