Tripura aiming to use roofs of all govt buildings to generate solar power: Official

Agartala, Aug 16 (PTI) The Tripura Renewable Energy Development Agency (TREDA) has set a target to use the roofs of all government buildings in the state to generate solar power, an official said on Saturday.

According to a recent survey, the northeastern state has around 2,000 government buildings. Around 70-MW power could be generated by installing rooftop solar panels, it showed.

The move came in the backdrop of reduced output in four of the five gas-based power plants in Tripura, due to shortage of adequate gas supply, officials said.

“The state government is focusing on solar power, as reserves of natural gas are dwindling with every passing year. A plan has been chalked out to use all the government buildings to generate as much solar power as possible,” TREDA Joint Director Debabrata Sukladas told PTI.

“We have set an initial target of producing 10.50-MW power from renewable sources (solar power) out of the total target of 70 MW. Tendering for the energy plan is in the final stages,” he said.

At present, the state produces around 26-MW power from solar energy, which was 3 MW seven years ago.

“The transition plan also focuses on generating job opportunities for the youth. We will team up with the skill development department to impart training to solar power technicians and supervisors. The state needs trained manpower to install solar panels and for their maintenance,” the official said.

Tripura, which largely depends on gas-based power plants, has seen a decline in generation at the units owing to a supply crunch of natural gas.

The OTPC-run Palatana power plant, with a capacity to produce 726-MW power daily is now generating only 520 MW, while the Manarchak power plant (NEEPCO) is producing 60-MW out of the installed capacity of 100-MW power. At RC Nagar plant, NEEPCO is producing 80-MW out of the installed capacity of 135-MW power, Sukladas said.

The northeastern state requires around 370-MW power on a daily basis, which is projected to rise to 700 MW by 2030, due to growing urbanisation, officials said. PTI PS RBT