Patna: With a view to further promoting green energy, Bihar Government has identified 8,000 more buildings where solar units would be established. The government has already installed 2,300 solar units on its buildings.

This was announced by Principal Secretary, Bihar Energy Department, Sanjeev Hans at a discussion held at Jal Jeevan Hariyali Diwas observed at Vidyut Bhawan on March 7 here.

Speaking on the occasion, Bihar Energy Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said the Energy Department should target government schools for installation of solar units, so that they become self-sustainable. “Government schools run during the day time. The solar units would be sufficient to supply electricity requirements of the schools,” he said.

Lauding the foresightedness of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for launching ‘Jal Jeevan Hariyali’ programme, he said, “Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in 2019 had launched ‘Jal Jeevan Hariyali’ programme and included 15 departments it, to save the deteriorating environment, which has now become a global concern.”

The Minister said that two departments - Water Resources and Education Departments - can jointly build strategies, as they have ample resources and space for solar unit installations. “Green strategies should be built to expand the scope of work and build long-term resilience,” he said.    

Lauding the efforts of the Energy Department for installation of Smart Prepaid Meter (SPM), Energy Minister Yadav said that this was a great step to rationalize electricity consumption as well as to cut AT & C (Aggregate Technical and Commercial) losses and power theft.

Bihar till now has installed more 12.50 lakh Smart Prepaid Meter (SPM) in urban areas and has set a target of fixing about 36 SPM in rural areas.

Principal Secretary, Energy Department, Shri Sanjeev Hans said the visionary policies of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar have brought to ground many solar energy projects in Bihar. “Solar plants have been installed in 2300 Government buildings, while 8000 more have been identified for further installations,” he said.

Giving details of work done in the green energy sector, Shri Hans said, “Solar installations have been set up at Kajra and Pirpainty in Bhagalpur district that have generation capacity of 400 MW and 450 MW respectively, besides the Kajra unit has battery storage facility, which can store 25% energy produced during the day time.”

Hans said that work was being done to make important tourist spots - Patna, Gaya, Bodh Gaya and Rajgir - as solar cities. “The requirement of the four towns and Government offices in Patna is 210 MW. By next year work will begin to fulfil the energy requirement through solar units,” he said.

He added that plans were also afoot to set up solar units in ‘Chaurs’ and Canals.

Giving details of other projects, Hans said, “We are making headway in the development of a pump storage facility. Work is in progress for setting up 30 MW Durgawati Dam and 20 MW Phulwaria Dam solar units.”

“Bihar witnesses at least 300-day of clear weather as the sky here remains clear. We are moving steadily to expand our capacity. At present we are generating 20 MW from the Rooftop Solar Power Scheme. As a green measure, in the next three years we would be installing 15 lakh solar lights in different panchayats of Bihar,” said Director of Bihar Renewable Energy Development Agency (BREDA), Mahendra Kumar.

Kumar said that Bihar Government  had taken path-breaking steps for supply of electricity to remote places like Adhoura in Kaimur in South Bihar and diara areas of Kosi and Ganga in North Bihar. “We have set up 376 mini grids and 1276 standalone systems that have enabled the supply of electricity to 40,000 households,” he said. 

Besides deploying green sustainable measures, Bihar is also devising ways to increase the forest cover. Director, Jal Jeevan Hariyali Mission, Rahul Kumar, said through the Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of Bihar, more than 10 crore tree saplings had been planted in the state.

Managing Director, North Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (NBPDCL), Prabhakar said Bihar had achieved the feat of installing 12.50 Smart Prepaid Meters in the State. “In rural areas we have set a target of installing 36 lakh SPMs and till now 30,000 smart meters have been installed,” he said. /BI/