Thiruvananthapuram to Get Solar Plants at Key City Locales

The Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (SCTL) and its Smart Mission initiative are implementing solar power plant projects at important establishments in the capital city, including the Legislative Assembly Complex, in order to propagate sustainable technology.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs 3.2 crores and it is expected to generate 607-kilowatt power. Officials believe that the plan will not only reduce carbon footprint but also help save an amount of Rs 50 lakh annually in terms of power cost. Speaker M B Rajesh recently inaugurated the solar plant installed at the Legislative Assembly Complex, Thiruvananthapuram, in the presence of Mayor Arya Rajendran.

The project is expected to meet around 10 per cent of the total electricity need and generate 1,350 units of electricity per year. Under the solar power project, solar plants are being installed at five government buildings coming under the ABD (Area Based Development) zone of the City Corporation, including Legislative Assembly Complex, Women College in Thycaud, Public Library, Government Central High School at Attakulangara and Kerala University Library.

All these buildings are equipped with mono solar PV panels, power conditioning units, inverters and smart solar energy metres. The agency installing the panels will do repairs and maintenance for the next five years. The project aims to reduce the carbon print by 170 tonnes annually.

Apart from solar energy, SCTL has made efforts in the past to push electric mobility in Kerala but to no avail. Lack of charging station, concerns about durability of battery, unavailability of spare parts, and lack of service and support are the reasons for people’s reluctance towards owning e-vehicles. The e-rickshaw feeder service introduced in Kochi Metro and SCTL was not a success, raising serious concerns about the future of e-vehicles in the state.

Last week, SCTL invited fresh expression of interests for implementing an electro-mechanical parking project at the public office compound. The move was facilitated after the national highways and infrastructure development corporation backed out of the project.