Kerala Govt Launches Project To Make Thiruvananthapuram Largest Solar City In India

The Kerala government on Tuesday launched an ambitious project to promote the use of solar power in the state. As per the information, the government plans to turn every rooftop in the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram into a solar energy-producing station.

Through this project, the State capital is expected to become one of the largest ‘solar cities’ in the country.

This was revealed at the three day expo by the government-run Agency for New and Renewable Energy Research and Technology (ANERT), which opened on Tuesday.  The expo allows the public to see, learn, and purchase various solar energy systems to implement a Central government scheme, that was launched last year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the Smart City Mission.

According to officials, the solar city project aims to meet all power requirements of a city from renewable energy sources. The state government has identified the potential for the production of 800 MW solar energy in Thiruvananthapuram, which includes identifying three lakh buildings suitable for installation through the creation of a solar atlas. 

600 government buildings have already started installing solar panels; 150 of those buildings were officially opened on Tuesday. The remaining 400 government buildings will be commissioned in the next month or two.

According to the state government officials, if people come forward to install solar panels on the three lakh private buildings identified, 700 MW of solar energy could be produced.

The remaining 100 MW can be produced using solar street lamps and through government institutions. Solar panels help consumers become ‘prosumers’ (producing consumers) as their electricity bill could be zero and they could earn money by supplying power to the grid.