Diu Becomes Country’s First Fully Solar Powered UT

The Union territory has displayed a model for an effective way for people to harness this renewable energy source.

In a move to go green, Diu has become India’s first 100 per cent solar powered and energy surplus Union territory (UT).

The Union territory has displayed a model for an effective way for people to harness this renewable energy source.

In just 3 years, Diu has made rapid progress in the solar electricity generation. It has an area of just 42 sq.kms. Despite scarcity of land, solar power plants have been installed, in Diu, over more than 50 acres.

The UT generates a total of 13 MW of electricity from solar power generating facilities daily, out of which around 3 MW is generated from rooftop solar plants and the remaining 10 MW is from other solar power plants.

Commenting on the development, Daman and Diu electricity department, Executive Engineer, Milind Ingle told TOI that, “The population of Diu is only 56,000. For water and electricity, the Union territory was solely dependent on the Gujarat government. To overcome this limitation, the administration of the Union territory decided to set up solar power plants in Diu.”

“Diu’s peak-time demand for electricity goes up to 7 MW and we generate about 10.5 MW of electricity from solar energy daily. This is way more than the consumption demand requirement,” he added.

Ingle further added that solar power has come as a big relief for local residents as their monthly bill charges have fallen by around 12 per cent.

Source: Times of India