A 5 MWp (Mega Watt peak) grid interactive captive solar power plant has been commissioned by BHEL,Trichy, on its premises in June, as part of its efforts to promote the use of clean and renewable energy sources and to achieve significant reduction in energy costs.
The captive power plant, including photo-voltaic modules, power conditioning units, high tension switch gear panels and the SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system, were manufactured and supplied by BHEL’s Electronics Division, Bengaluru. Utilizing an array of 19,968 photo-voltaic modules spread over 25 acres, the solar power plant has already generated over 18 lakh units of electricity since June and is expected to facilitate substantial savings in energy costs over the long term.
Payback period for the investment of about Rs 30 crore including civil works is expected to be just 5 years and 1 month while the operational life of the solar power plant will be a minimum of 25 years. While this is the first megawatt scale solar power plant at BHEL Trichy, it has earlier commissioned two 50 kW and one 20 kW solar power plants on the roof-tops of major office buildings including the Administrative Building.
Five 30 kW, one 25 kW and one 5 kW roof-top solar power plants are also in operation in the township schools and BHEL Trichy has also installed a total of 289 solar powered street lights so far in its factory and township premises.
By Baishakhi Dutta
