The Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) has commissioned a 5.76 MW grid-connected rooftop solar project developed under the Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) category.

The project has been developed on the roof area of GAIL Petrochemical Complex at Pata, Uttar Pradesh. This is the second largest rooftop solar project at a single location in India.

According to GAIL, the 5.76 MW rooftop solar project is spread over the roofs of warehouses covering a total roof area of 65, 000 square meters. The expected Plant Load Factor (PLF) is around 15 percent annually. The project is expected to generate over 7.9 million kW of electricity for captive use.

GAIL’s chairman and managing director, B. C. Tripathi said, “GAIL as a marketer of benign natural gas is thrilled to integrate captive solar PV towards achieving lower carbon footprint at our major installation.”

Captive solar PV initiative of GAIL will reduce carbon emissions by 6300 tons per annum (TPA) and help India achieve its climate goals under the Paris Climate Accord. GAIL’s solar rooftop project is also a boost to Centre’s ‘Make in India’ program as domestic vendors have been entrusted with the responsibility of manufacture, supply, and execution.

In October 2016, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) had tendered the 5.76 MW rooftop solar project on behalf of GAIL. Developed for captive usage, the project had been tendered under the DCR category.

According to Mercom’s Q3 India Solar Market Update, with the commissioning of this 5.76 MW rooftop solar project, India’s installed rooftop capacity stands at approximately 1.3 GW.

Image credit – By Natfert – Own work, CC BY 3.0