Sharper sun rays may be inconveniencing some, but they have also brought some good tidings.
The solar energy input for areas serviced by the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) has increased significantly over a year, in turn increasing the contribution of renewable energy to the total power generation.
Bescom officials said in 2017-18 (April to March), solar energy generated through rooftop installations was 93 MW, a marked increase from 45 MW in the previous financial year of 2016-17.
Solar energy generated from ground-mounted installations too has seen a substantial rise.
From 272 MW in 2016-17, it has gone up to 880 MW in 2017-18. A large part of this is credited to the solar park recently inaugurated in Pavagada. Though the overall capacity of the park is 2,000 MW, around 650 MW has been commissioned as of now.
Officials of the power utility, which accounts for nearly half the consumption of power in the State, said the increase in solar input has added to the stable power availability scenario this summer, as the peak demand in Bescom areas alone had reached 5,050 MW.
Tariff revision
Meanwhile, the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has recently set in motion the process to determine the tariffs for both rooftop as well as ground-mounted solar installations. For megawatt scale ground mounted solar projects, the KERC had, in its April 2017 order, fixed ₹4.36 per unit as the tariff for the life of the projects, i,e., 25 years.
In its discussion paper, the commission has brought out points to determine the generic tariff for ground mounted solar projects and rooftop photovoltaic plants as applicable from April 1, 2018.
EV charging station using mixed load
The Bescom’s charging station for electric vehicles (EVs), the only government-owned station, continues to be powered by mixed load — thermal, hydel and solar. But it has no plans to power them using only renewable energy.
A recently released report from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) had cited how pushing for EVs was not enough in pushing down pollution levels as charging stations would depend on coal-based power generation, thus pushing up pollution levels elsewhere.
Bescom’s charging station has few takers despite the power utility offering free trial for customers. At present, Bescom has deployed five EVs for corporate use, which are being charged at the station.
