Tuesday, September 9, 2014

126 Buildings Spotted to Install Solar Panels

The New Indian Express (Bhubaneswar), Sept 9, 2014
BHUBANESWAR: Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha Limited (GEDCOL) has identified 126 buildings in the Twin City to install solar panels, said Chairman-cum-Managing Director of GRIDCO and GEDCOL Board of Director member Hemant Sharma.
Speaking at a workshop on solar power conducted by Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI) here on Monday, Sharma said GEDCOL has a target to produce five MW of power in the first phase of the project.
It would be executed on a public-private-partnership (PPP) mode and eight companies have been shortlisted for the purpose. 
Besides, works have already commenced at solar plants in Rengali, Manamunda and Bhawanipatna where GEDCOL has set a target of 100 MW power production by 2017.
“Solar power projects have still not percolated into the private sector and all the major projects are being undertaken by the Government. Young entrepreneurs must take initiatives in this sector,” Sharma said.
Speaking at the workshop, several industry experts opined that educational institutions should start a course on solar power and energy.
At a time when energy demand is on the rise, the future of power generation lies in solar energy.
“The cost of generating one MW of solar power is around `seven to 7.5 crore, including cost of land and transmission of power to the grid,” said a Dubai-based entrepreneur Naeem Salih. Though expensive, solar power panels have excellent return on investment and are easy to set up compared to the process of production of power through other renewable sources of energy like wind and biomass.
Among others, Santosh Sahoo, Director GEDCOL; T Harinarayan, Director GERMI; Omkar Jani, Principal Scientist GERMI; executives from public sector companies and students were present.

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