The heritage building that houses French Consulate of Puducherry became the first administrative building of the French government in India to go green.
Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy on Friday inaugurated the renovated reception hall of the Consulate that can be completely lit by sunlight alone. Apart from replacing LED lights in the hall, the architects have constructed surfaces on the pillars that can bounce light back to the ceiling and diffuse it lighting up the entire central hall.
French Consul General in Puducherry Philippe Janvier Kamiyama said that as per an energy audit carried out in 2015, the consulate building fulfils the criteria for a five star rating, the highest level of certification of energy efficiency given by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).
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Inspired by the United Nations Conference on Climate Change held in Paris during December 2015 (known as COP 21), the Embassy of France in India decided to implement several projects to make the Puducherry Consulate building environment friendly during the year 2016.
They have installed 144 solar panels on the roof top of the consulate building. The 45.36 kW capacity roof top on-grid solar system produces on an average 5700 units per month. “Since mid-July, the solar plant has produced more than 33,000 units of power thus saving more than ₹2.3 lakh,” he added.
Mr.Kamiyama said: “The continuous technical improvements and change in user habits over more than a decade are bearing fruits for making this consulate a very environment friendly building. While this building consumed 53,358 units of power in July 2002, the bill for July 2016 shows 16,889 units, a reduction of more than 68%, an indicator of all the efforts undertaken both in the domains of conservation and production.”
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After inaugurating the renovated hall at the French Consulate in Puducherry, the Chief Minister spoke about the special relation that France and Puducherry share. He stressed that the French and Puducherry governments carried out several activities together. Both the governments were working towards the smart city project. “We are planning to modernise Puducherry city without disturbing the existing structure and in accordance to the needs of people,” said Mr. Narayanasamy.
He added that the French Consulate in Puducherry has set an example for the others to follow.