Amid constantly deteriorating air quality, the Delhi government has decided to officially close the Rajghat thermal power project and develop it into a 5 MW solar park.

According to a Press Trust of India report, the decision was taken during a meeting of the Delhi Cabinet. The power generation at this thermal project was stopped due to pollution concerns back in 2015.

Quoting  Manish Sisodia, the deputy chief minister of Delhi, the PTI report said that the 45-acre land on which the thermal power project was built will now be developed into a solar park.

The coal-based project, having a power generation capacity of 135 MW and located at Yamuna Bank, was commissioned in 1989.

This is a welcome development for the national capital, which has turned to renewable energy sources in recent years in the face of rising pollution levels. Recently, ramping up its efforts to curb the deteriorating air quality in the national capital, the Transport Department, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD), issued a tender for electric buses. The transport department has tendered a total of 385 electric buses under two clusters E1 and E2. According to the request for selection, cluster E1 has a requirement of 275 buses and cluster E2 has a requirement of 110 buses.

The Delhi Police has also initiated the adoption of renewable energy by signing an agreement with SECI (Solar energy Corporation of India) for 3-4 MW of rooftop solar Installations across all its building in the national Capital.

The Delhi government has taken up the cause of renewables, especially solar, and has provided lucrative incentives to the consumers for adopting rooftop solar projects to meet their energy requirements sustainably.

Last year, the Delhi government recently approved the Mukhyamantri Solar Power Program to give the necessary and required impetus to solar power and its adoption in Delhi. The government recognizes the fact that the solar installations on government buildings and educational institutions are about 105 MW compared to the 5 MW installations so far in the residential segment. To bridge this gap and realize the concept of “Solarize Delhi” under the Delhi Solar Policy 2016, the government realizes this vast untapped potential has to be utilized.

Anjana is a news editor at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, she held roles of senior editor, district correspondent, and sub-editor for The Times of India, Biospectrum and The Sunday Guardian. Before that, she worked at the Deccan Herald and the Asianlite as chief sub-editor and news editor. She has also contributed to The Quint, Hindustan Times, The New Indian Express, Reader’s Digest (UK edition), IndiaSe (Singapore-based magazine) and Asiaville. Anjana holds a Master’s degree in Geography from North Bengal University, and a diploma in mass communication and journalism from Guru Ghasidas University, Bhopal.