Anantapur district is making rapid strides in renewable energy production and utilisation, and is among the top districts in Andhra Pradesh on this front with several projects being proposed in solar and wind energy both by the government as well as by private firms.
A major step being taken to minimise dependence on fossil fuel is to make electric cars available for government departments. “Our aim is to make all Urban Local Bodies go for electric cars and help set up a charging station on their premises,” said New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation district manager M. Kodanda Rama Murthy. Under this scheme, the Anantapur Municipal Corporation will get two electric cars and the New & Renewable Energy Development Corporation has proposed to procure another three, he said. The APSPDCL at Anantapur has also been allocated two vehicles.
While Anantapur district has two charging stations — one at SE - APSPDCL’s office in the city here and another at their office in Kadiri.
More charging stations
Efforts are on to get 50 charging stations with Transco providing power free-of-cost initially, said Mr. Murthy. “The current vehicles allow you to travel a maximum of 105 km on one charge at a maximum speed of 100 kmph to 120 kmph. The recharge time at an A/C charging point is nearly seven hours, while it comes down to 90 minutes at a D/C charging station,” Mr. Murthy said.