Coimbatore civic body to open its second solar power plant

<p> </p><p>Almost 10 months after the solar power plant at Ukkadam started generating power, the city corporation is all set to inaugurate its second solar power plant at Kavundampalayam. The plant with the capacity to generate 1MW power was built at a cost Rs 5.5 crore. <br><br>“The installation work has been completed and all necessary approvals have been obtained to commission the plant. We will inaugurate it at the earliest,” said a corporation source, who didn’t want to be named. <br><br>The plant, which consists of 3,168 solar panels with a capacity of 320watts each, has been set up across 5.5 acres within the premises of old dump yard at Kavundampalayam. <br><br>Pointing out that it had taken the city corporation a while to clear the encroachments and construction debris in the dump yard, the source said a few instances of theft were reported on the premises after the installation work had commenced. To prevent unauthorized entry into the location, the city corporation has constructed a compound wall around the plant at a cost of Rs 1.3 crore, the source said. <br><br>According to the source, the plant would serve the double purpose of reducing the electricity bills of the civic body and using sustainable green energy. <br><br>In February this year, the civic body had inaugurated its first solar power plant near a sewage treatment plant at Ukkadam at a cost of Rs 5.5 crore. The plant’s capacity is also 1MW. Since then, about 12,43,700 units of power have been generated from the plant, helping the corporation to save about Rs 74 lakh on its electricity bill.</p><p>With the second power plant to be commissioned soon, the city corporation is likely to save more on its electricity bills. <br><br>The city corporation is also working on its third solar plant at Ukkadam. The plant, which will have a capacity to produce 3.6MW power, will be set up at a cost of Rs 17 crore. The plant would have 11,600 panels, each having a capacity of 320watts- 325 watts. <br><br><br>Referred from economic times, 02 Dec 2019.</p>

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