Bihar: 9 government buildings get solar panels

<p> </p><p>With a view to promoting renewable energy sources and reducing dependence on electricity, major government buildings in the city have started installing solar panels on their rooftops as part of the Smart City Mission (SCM).<br><br>According to officials of the Patna Smart City Limited (PSCL), altogether nine panels, including four at Bankipore Girls’ High School and the remaining at the divisional commissioner’s office, district magistrate’s (DM) residence, Indira Gandhi Planetarium, Sachchidanand Sinha Library and Bihar Rajya Police Parivahan Mukhyalay, have been set up so far.<br><br>In fact, the solar rooftop panels on the four buildings of Bankipore Girls’ High School, having a total capacity of 125 kilowatt (kW),have even started generating electricity. The panels at the divisional commissioner’s office and the DM’s residence are capable of producing 45kW and 11kW of electricity, respectively.<br><br>The guidelines for the SCM require that at least 10% of a city’s energy needs are met by solar power and 80% are energy-efficient. The PSCL has, therefore, selected altogether 23 government buildings for installation of solar panels, following a survey conducted by the Bihar Renewable Energy DevelopmentAgency (BREDA). The entire project entails an estimated outlay of Rs 3 crore.<br><br>PSCL’s public relations officer (PRO) Harshita told this newspaper on Thursday, “We signed a tripartite agreement with BREDA, which looks after the work of installation of solar panels in government buildings across Bihar. After the agency did a survey of the 23 buildings based on various technical specifications, the list was finalized.”<br> </p><p>She added, “We are trying to motivate others to switch to renewable sources of energy. The government has also been urging private entities to use solar panels.”Patna Municipal Corporation commissioner Amit Kumar Pandey said, “The solar panels installed on the rooftops of some government buildings will help save energy by reducing the burden on conventional sources.”<br><br> </p><p>Referred from economic times, dated 27 Dec 2019.</p>

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