The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), a government agency formed to operate dams, has decided to install grid-connected rooftop solar PV projects on the roofs of its non-residential buildings and offices along with floating and ground-mounted projects.

According to the BBMB’s press release, it has already commissioned 435 kW of rooftop solar power projects in Chandigarh, Jamalpur, Jalandhar, Narela, and Punjabi Bagh of New Delhi.

Recently, BBMB also commissioned four grid-connected rooftop solar projects at 31 non-residential buildings with a total installed capacity of 950 kW at Ganguwal (100 kW) and Nangal (850kW) in Punjab.

With the commissioning of these projects, BBMB has completed the installation of 37 rooftop solar stations on non-residential buildings with a total capacity of 1,385 kW.  All these solar rooftop power projects are SCADA-compliant for data transmission and monitoring purposes.

According to BBMB, the rooftop solar power projects of around 1,154 kW are at different stages of execution at various project sites and sub-stations of BBMB. Besides the installation of more rooftop PV projects on the sub-station and non-residential buildings, the installation of 4 MW ground-mounted solar PV project at Nangal and Talwara, and another 15 MW of floating solar PV projects at Nangal have also been initiated.

D.K. Sharma, the chairman of intimated that BBMB would produce enough solar power for its use in offices, schools, hospitals, and other infrastructures as well as for the supply to its partner states.

Punjab is slowly taking up the cause of solar power and of late, has introduced tenders for its expansion across the state.

For instance, last month, the Punjab Energy Developing Agency (PEDA) had issued a Request for Proposal for the approval of rates of different capacities of grid-interactive rooftop solar projects in the state. The power generated from these rooftop solar PV projects would be utilized for captive consumption. The surplus power generation from these projects is to be fed to the grid adhering to the state net metering policy.

Recently, the Akal University in Punjab’s Bhatinda announced that it had installed a 1.2 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project for ₹52 million (~$0.75 million). The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) provided a subsidy of ₹17 million (~$0.25 million) for this project.

The state government of Punjab also approved a solar pilot project to be developed on agricultural land on a rental basis, besides allowing farmers to undertake high-value cultivation of fruits and vegetables.

Anjana is a news editor at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, she held roles of senior editor, district correspondent, and sub-editor for The Times of India, Biospectrum and The Sunday Guardian. Before that, she worked at the Deccan Herald and the Asianlite as chief sub-editor and news editor. She has also contributed to The Quint, Hindustan Times, The New Indian Express, Reader’s Digest (UK edition), IndiaSe (Singapore-based magazine) and Asiaville. Anjana holds a Master’s degree in Geography from North Bengal University, and a diploma in mass communication and journalism from Guru Ghasidas University, Bhopal.