Renewable energy body yet to be solar powered TIMES NEWS NETWORK

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Renewable energy body yet to be solar powered TIMES NEWS NETWORK  Hyderabad: A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stressed on the need for increasing the country’s renewable energy efficiency, the state organization involved in promoting this very cause is doing precious little to propagate clean safe energy and is, in fact, hit by regular power cuts.     The New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) which has its office in Nampally has not installed any solar power gadget so far.     Most of its 50 plus employees said solar equipment is stored away at their office without being put to any usage, and they are dependent on outside sources for power supply.     Frequent power cuts bring the entire office work to a halt. Surprisingly, the office has been experiencing hours of power cuts every summer, but the officials concerned have never thought of tapping solar energy.      “Whenever there is a power cut, it is a break time” quipped an employee “There are no back-ups like generators or invertors. To let in some sunlight, we open our windows or if it becomes too hot we take a stroll outside.”     “The computers have UPS facility and work for less than an hour whenever there is a power cut. In case of long hours of power cuts we do not have any option but to while away our time,” said another.     NREDCAP offers 30% subsidy to citizens who want to install a roof-top photo voltaic system which costs 2.4 lakhs per 1 KW.     Similar subsidies are also offered on solar heaters, lanterns and other such devices. The body is also responsible for giving permission to wind energy and biomass energy plants.     “We spend thousands of rupees every month on electricity. Installing roof-top solar panels would decrease our power bill by 20%–30% and ensure uninterrupted power supply for a couple of hours,” said an official. “Ideally, we are supposed to inspire the citizens by going completely solar. But, for various reasons we have not been able to do that and we only focusing on promoting it,” official added.     When quizzed on the issue, the higher officials of the NREDCAP said they were planning to install 5 KW solar roof-top panels for electricity soon. “This is our rented accommodation and that is why we had reservations about installing solar power devices till date. But we will be doing it soon,” said M Kamalakar Babu, vice-chairman and managing director, NREDCAP.(Times of India)