The Delhi Legislative Assembly building has gone green with the recent installation of a 100 kW rooftop solar system.

The cost of the solar project installation is estimated to be ₹735,000 (~$10,470), according to PTI.  It is expected to save Delhi assembly nearly ₹1 million (~$14,244) in electricity bill on an annual basis. The lifespan of the solar project is expected to be 25 years.

Ram Niwas Goel, the speaker of the Delhi assembly, told PTI, “The second phase of 100 kW of solar panels will be installed in Delhi Vidhan Sabha premises soon.”

Delhi government has taken several steps in the past months to increase the adoption of renewable energy in the region in order to combat the toxic air quality and make the national capital more sustainable.

For instance, in July 2018, the government had planned to launch a Solar Rooftop Demand Aggregation Program for domestic customers in the nation’s capital. The program would benefit consumers including residential, schools, hospitals, and municipal segments with an expected aggregated demand of 40 MW under the RESCO mode.

In the same month, it approved Mukhyamantri Agriculture-cum Solar Farm Program to increase farmer’s income and achieve the state’s solar target as per the Delhi Solar Policy 2016.

Recently, Delhi’s Indraprastha Power Generation Co. Ltd. (IPGCL) issued a tender for 35 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar projects in Delhi under the Mukhyamantri Solar Power Program.

In September 2018, BSES, Delhi’s major distribution company (DISCOM), announced that it has installed more than 1,000 solar rooftop connections with a sanctioned solar load of over 40 MW. According to BSES, the total number of solar rooftop net metering connections is likely to cross 2,000 and the sanctioned solar load will double up to around 80 MW by the end of 2018.

In November 2018, the Delhi government also released its draft Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy 2018 to improve Delhi’s air quality by bringing down the emissions from transport sector. This policy will apply to Battery Electric Vehicles as defined in Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME).  Mild Hybrid, Strong Hybrid, and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles are excluded in the policy.

Nitin is a staff reporter at Mercomindia.com and writes on renewable energy and related sectors. Prior to Mercom, Nitin has worked for CNN IBN, India News, Agricultural Spectrum and Bureaucracy Today. He received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. More articles from Nitin Kabeer