Odisha government is planning to turn to the sun to power its Secretariat

Bhubaneswar: By replacing the conventional system, the Odisha government is considering using solar power to operate the secretariat, a move aimed at making one of the state's largest public buildings energy-efficient. Although the secretariat runs partially on solar rooftop panels presently, it draws its power mostly from the Central Electricity Supply Utility of Odisha (CESU).

Plans to replicate same in other buildings

At a high-level meeting of the science and technology department, Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi recommended taking steps to make the entire secretariat energy-efficient before replicating the same in other buildings.

"We were deliberating on implementing the solar rooftop system in Bhubaneswar when the chief secretary suggested solar energy for running the secretariat. We will conduct a study in this regard," said an official of the science and technology department.

To assess the alignment of solar panels and map the rooftop, he said the department would conduct a study on this regard.

"We are exploring the option of installing solar rooftop panels instead of a solar energy plant at the secretariat," the official added.

A building for a solar power plant requires vast amounts of space, sources said. In the absence of the same at the secretariat, the officials are giving consideration to solar rooftop panels. "After implementing it at the secretariat, similar efforts will be made for other buildings in the city," the sources said.

The power load of the secretariat was about 1,850 KW per month, of which 265 KW is produced from the existing solar panels, sources said. Around Rs 16-17 lakh is by paid by the authorities to CESU each month for electricity, although the electricity bill has been cut down by about Rs 1 to 1.5 lakh with the use of solar rooftop panels.