Andhra Pradesh mulls solar units atop hospitals

VIJAYAWADA: In a first, the State as part of its green initiatives is planning to set up solar power units in all district hospitals and government general hospitals across the State. The main goals of the initiative is to fight power problems, generator issues and save electricity. The project is likely to take off in February.

In the first phase, Vijayawada Government General Hospital, King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam, Guntur General Hospital and SVIMS in Tirupati are going to be given full-fledged solar units. Each hospital is going to have a 500-800 KW capacity power house.

In the second phase, units with a capacity to generate 400 -600 KW will be set up in all district hospitals.
Based on the capacity of the hospital, the government may even consider setting up a 100 KW solar power house. All the systems will be brought under the Net Metering system of the Southern Discom by which the export of excess solar power into the grid will be set off against the consumption from the grid, thereby cutting down the consumers’ expenses.

The installation is being promoted by the New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of AP (NREDCAP) in consultation with the Department of Health, under the Solar Grid Connected Rooftop Systems scheme by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy through the Solar Energy Corporation of India.

“The main motto behind this initiative is to bring energy efficiency in the health sector of the state. Though we have tried to harness solar energy in the past, we have been unable to do so effectively. Now we have the support of NREDCAP. Thanks to the advancements in technology we are sure that we can turn all major hospitals energy efficient solar hospitals. The Central government has offered a subsidy of 30 to 40 per cent on capital cost. Operation and maintenance will be borne by the developer,” additional director of Health Geetha Prasadini said.

As of now, hospitals pay nearly `7 per unit. Turning to solar power will help the institutions save as much as Rs 18 lakh per year on power bills.

“There are plans to allocate about 50 MW of solar power projects to public institutions, offices and hospitals. We have been called for the meeting regarding the installation of solar units in hospitals. With the use of solar energy, we can save a lot of money which can be used for other developmental works,” GGH Vijayawada in-charge superintendent Babu Lal told TNIE.