Now the Dakshina Kannada district administration wants to become self-reliant in energy consumption.
As a first step in this direction, the administration, with funding support from the Member of Parliament (MP) of the district, has installed rooftop solar power unit at Deputy Commissioner’s office complex in Mangaluru.
Kumble Narasimha Prabhu, managing partner of the Mangaluru-based Solar Trade Links (the company that installed the unit), said that the 25 kw solar plant generates 100 units of power a day. This will help save the district administration around ₹2.5 lakh a year on power bills.
Solar panels have been installed on an area of around 2,500 sq ft at the Deputy Commissioner’s office complex.
Stating that the solar power plant, which was commissioned on January 26, would help meet the requirement of the office complex, Prabhu said the excess power produced on holidays will be supplied to the grid of Mangalore Electricity Supply Company.
He said the ₹20-lakh worth project is funded by the Dakshina Kannada MP, Nalin Kumar Kateel, under the MP’s Local Area Development Fund.
This is the first of its kind rooftop solar project in Karnataka for a government office with funding support from the MP, he said, adding that the initiative was taken by Deputy Commissioner AB Ibrahim.
Solar Trade Links has installed eight rooftop solar plants with a capacity of 100 kw in different parts of the district. Prabhu said another 75 kw solar plants will be installed in the district by the end of February.