Uttar Pradesh Plans Solar City Adjacent to Saryu River

The state government of Uttar Pradesh led by Yogi Adityanath is mulling to establish a solar city in Ayodhya district. The state government has allocated Rs 317 crore in the current budget to implement Solar Energy Policy 2022, the new solar city will come up adjacent to the banks of Saryu river.

The solar city would be spread on an area of 500 acres that will supply green power to Ayodhya city to fulfill its needs to a great extent. It will also supply power to the upcoming Ram Janmabhoomi campus coming up.

The solar city in Ayodhya will be developed on the lines of Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has come up with a DPR for the project.

The Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) is also carrying out a survey to find suitable land in Ayodhya to set up the solar city so that the movement of the river is not obstructed.

In 2020, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had announced that Ayodhya will be developed as a model solar city as the holy town is fast emerging as a hub for religious tourism attracting people from all over the world. The district administration has installed solar lights at 450 locations. Eight government buildings have also been solarised.

Under the Solar Energy Policy 2022, the Uttar Pradesh government wants to build 20 cities with 10 lakh households into solar cities in a span of five years.

Solar Quest At Cultural Sites

Solar power is being amalgamated with some of the most popular cultural sites to provide regular power supply, enhance beautification and further the cause of renewables’ expansion. The government is solarising the famous Konark Sun Temple and the town.

Last year, the Sun Temple Town of Modhera (Gujarat) successfully executed an Integrated Solar Energy Project that has solar panel installations along with a battery energy storage system (BESS). The Golden Temple city of Amritsar will also be developed as a solar city in Punjab.

In the beginning of the year, Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) was mulling to deploy 10 solar ferries to step-up the tourism in the city and take pilgrims on local voyages.