Stupa town Sanchi all set to be a solar city

Sanchi has had its place in the sun for over 2,000 years. Now, it’s going solar. The small city of 9,000 is home to the Sanchi Stupa, a Unesco World Heritage site, and sits on the Tropic of Cancer, making it an ideal location to soak in the sun’s energy and become one of the first solar cities of the country. Sources say Solar Sanchi will be unveiled to the world in May.
It’s the talk of the town. At street corners, chai stalls, nukkad addas, all look up at the newly installed solar streetlights with pride. It’s the first visible change in the solar city.
The idea is to generate as much power (or more) as Sanchi needs through solar panels and supply it to the grid. Two solar stations of 5MW and 3MW capacity are being built in the town. The smaller plant is being built on 5 hectares, close to the heritage site.
“The town needs around 3 million units of energy annually. The 3MW plant will meet urban needs and the 5MW plant will be used for meeting agriculture-related requirements,” superintending engineer of MP Urja Vikas Nigam (MPUVN), Srikant Deshmukh, told TOI. It’s the implementing agency for the Solar Sanchi project.
The focus is also on reducing energy consumption. “We are training people, providing energy-efficient equipment, and carrying out an energy audit of all 20 government buildings in Sanchi. Going by the audit report, electrical equipment will be upgraded. We are also doingrooftop solar installation at these government buildings,” PK Shandilya, the executive engineer for new and renewable energy in Raisen district, told TOI.
“More than 300 solar streetlights have been installed all across the town. The pumping station of the civic body is being converted into a solar-powered one. Renewable water kiosks are being made near the heritage site. We will also distribute energy-efficient solar lanterns and lights to street vendors and residents. All this isbeing done through the civic body with CSR funds,” Shandilya added.
The administration’s drive to go solar is rubbing off on residents. Many are setting up rooftop solar panels. These individual installations are being done through the discom, Shandilya said. “We plan to develop the 3MW site as a model and inspiration. We have also ordered a wind turbine, and carpets that generate energy whenyou walk on them. We will lay out the carpets at the heritage site and put up display boards that will show the electricity generated as visitors walk on them,” he added.
Thirty residents have registered to install rooftop solar systems and more people are showing interest, Pranjul Sharma, assistant manager of the discom’s Salamatpur distribution centre, told TOI.
Kamal Kishore Patel, who was the first to get a rooftop solar plant installed at his house, said: “With this 5KV rooftop system, I think my energy bill will be zero. I’m told that the solar panels will last 20 years. It’s a win-win for me. ”
Asked why he invested in a solar system, Patel said, “It’s for a noble cause and is environment-friendly. It will give a new dimension to our world-famous town. ”
Local representatives say there’s a lot of support for the go-solar mission. “People have taken to it with enthusiasm. We generate the energy that we consume – the idea itself is very good. It will add to the reputation of the town too. Our energy bill for streetlights is around Rs 3 lakh per month and for the pumping station Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1. 5lakh. This will be clean savings for us. Besides, people are now going for rooftop installations. We are flooded with enquiries,” ward 13 corporator Sunil Jain told TOI.
TOI found a group of people discussing the solar mission at a temple in the stupa town. “Drones were used for the survey. That was quite a novelty. And we were pleasantly surprised when officials visited our homes and sought our opinion on the solar project. I am very hopeful that it will greatly ease our power costs,” said Madan Singh Chouhan, a resident.
“Our Sanchi is already world-famous. This will further add to the glory of the town,” said another local, Virendra Singh Rajput.
An Uphill Task
The most difficult part of the entire project was wrapping the south facing slopes of a hill, which houses the solar plant, in solar panels. “It’s shaped like a cone. There is no other setup like this anywhere as of now,” superintending engineer of MP Urja Vikas Nigam, Srikant Deshmukh, told TOI. He added, “No government money has been spent on this. The plant is being set up under PPP mode. It has a tariff of only 3. 2 per unit. The electricity will be purchased at this rate by the government. Other expenses like installing solar streetlights are being met through CSR funds,” he added.