The Kakinada Municipal Corporation (KMC) Council on Wednesday passed a resolution to set up a floating off-grid solar power plant on a 15-acre surface of the Aratlakatta summer storage pond in the city.
“The 7 MW capacity floating solar power plant is proposed to be set up on the surface of the 95-acre summer storage pond. A surface area of 15 acres will be utilised for the power project, which is expected to return savings of 40-50% on electricity bills,” KMC Commissioner Swapnil Dinakar said during the council meeting.
“The project has been proposed to set up under the Ministry of New and Renewal Energy’s (MNRE) Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model being encouraged by the Ministry,” Mr. Dinakar said.
Under the RESCO model, the Ministry offers financial aid of 90% of the benchmark cost of the project to set up on a BOOT basis (Build--Own-Operate-Transfer), according to the Ministry’s initiative that came into force in May.
Inundation
“The encroachments on the drainage space in the city need to be removed to address the water-logging problems that were witnessed in October. Encroachments on drains are the main reason for the inundation of the city,” Kakinada City MLA D. Chandrasekhara Reddy said during the meeting that was presided over by KMC Mayor Sunkara Pavani.
The council members also welcomed the proposal of developing a G+2 commercial complex comprising space for the 16 commercial establishments on the ground floor and the Secretariat in the rest of the building in Ward 35 in the city.
“The commercial complex will be built at a cost of ₹4.5 crore,” said Mr. Dinakar. The council has also accepted the proposal to allocate ₹37.40 lakh to purchase five vehicles for collection of solid waste in the city.
