Dharamsala MC boosts income with solar power

Anurag Chander Sharma, Municipal Commissioner, stated that the installation of solar power plants under the Smart City mission would augment the income of the financially strained Dharamsala Municipal Corporation (DMC). He mentioned that various solar power projects, both roof-mounted and ground-mounted, are being set up in Dharamsala. Sharma informed that a surface-mounted solar power plant with a capacity of 600 kWp would soon be established at Uparli Dari in Dharamsala. According to him, this plant is expected to generate approximately 7.38 lakh units of electricity, contributing Rs 26.50 lakh to the MC's income. He further pointed out that the plant's operation would also lead to the mitigation of around 15,000 tonne of carbon dioxide, equivalent to planting 20,000 teak trees, based on an estimate by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Additionally, he stated that the energy produced by the 600 kWp surface-mounted solar power plant at Uparli Dari would be fed into the HPSEBL?s power grid. Dharamsala Smart City Company has already entered into a power purchase agreement with HPSEBL for selling energy over the next 25 years. There is a possibility of increasing the project's capacity from 600 kWp to 750 kWp in the future. Sharma revealed that a 690 kWp rooftop solar power project had been awarded to Optimistic Green Energy in Mohali. This project is slated to be installed at a cost of Rs 40.19 million. As part of this initiative, solar rooftop power plants, with capacities of 60 kWp and 110 kWp, have already been set up on the auditorium of Dharamsala Government College and the HPSIDC building at Charan Khad, respectively. Both power plants are scheduled to be commissioned next month.