Odisha’s Medical Colleges And DHH Buildings To Adopt Solar Rooftop

Seven medical colleges and 32 district headquarters hospitals (DHHs) across the state of Odisha will all get rooftop solar installations. Under the renewable energy service company (RESCO) program of Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA),  healthcare facilities and hospitals will be mounted with rooftop solar systems.

The Director of Health Services (DHS) and the Director of Medical Education and Training (DMET) have been requested by the Health and Family Welfare Department to provide consolidated building-wise details necessary to finalise the solar capacity for participation in OREDA’s RESCO program for the development of grid-connected solar rooftop power plants.

Rooftop solar installations will be installed in medical facilities as part of the RESCO program’s SuBaH (Sun’s Blessings and Health) concept. The 32 DHHs and seven medical colleges will not only receive green power from it, but will also save costs by using less electricity. To choose solar power developers, OREDA will invite bids in RESCO model.

According to OREDA, “We are now examining the site-wise achievable capacity for different buildings based on the available roof area, power consumption pattern, and regulatory provisions to facilitate the bidders.”

The list of medical schools and DHHs that will now have solar rooftop includes SCB Medical College and Hospital (MCH), Cuttack, MKCG MCH, Berhampur, VIMSAR, FM, Balasore, SLN, Koraput, PRM, Baripada, and Bhima Bhoi. These MCHs and the 32 DHHs in the state will have solar plants installed on their roofs.

Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA) is presently implementing the PM-KUSUM Scheme Component-I to install Renewable Energy Power Plants (REPP). In the state, 167 solar power pumps have been functional, whereas the rest 317 solar pumps will be made functional before the deadline.

Besides this, the Odisha Government had taken the initiative of installing solar generation units in government-run 535 schools in the coastal district of Ganjam. The expenditure for the project was met through the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds.