Will Gandhinagar be Gujarat’s first solar city?

A rooftop policy for electricity generation through solar power has been undertaken by the state government. Chief minister Narendra Modi has indicated that the policy aims to make Gandhinagar a solar city. He also declared allotment of one MW of solar electricity plant at Raisan, Gandhinagar.

"The state is working on a rooftop electricity generation policy. The policy will enable Gandhinagar residents to produce electricity on their rooftops which the state government will buy," he said.

Talking about the one MW solar electricity plant, Modi said, "This plant has been commissioned within 105 days and at a cost of Rs15 crore. It will generate 15 lakh unit of power per year, reduce the carbon emission by 1500T and supply solar power to 1500 houses with air-conditioners." The government is planning to make Gandhinagar a solar city and Gujarat will become the solar capital of the world.

DJ Pandian, principal secretary to state energy and petrochemical department informed that this project will be under the public private partnership.

Initially 5,000 houses in Gandhinagar will be covered under the project. Solar panels fitted on the rooftops of the houses will generate electricity since seven in the morning till four in the evening.

House owners will be given two meters - one will measure the solar energy generated through solar panels while the other will measure the household electricity consumption. The first phase aims to generate 46mw of solar electricity under the rooftop solar electricity generation project in Gandhinagar.