The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and NTPC have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to install solar systems on over 200 SDMC buildings to save on power bills and generate revenue.

SMDC’s leader of the house, Narender Chawla, told Mercom, “We have installed solar projects on several of our existing buildings, and we will add panels on the remaining buildings. We are tying up with NTPC for this.”

Chawla added that the exact number of systems installed across various buildings would be disclosed soon. The capacity of each solar system will be based on the size of the rooftop of each building.

“Our focus is to add solar on all of our existing buildings. These include schools, parking lots, maternity homes, and hospitals. The MoU was signed a couple of days ago, and we just met the Minister for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), R.K. Singh, and discussed the details of the project,” Chawla said.

Meanwhile, the mayor of SDMC, Subhash Arya, told Mercom, “ This is not the first time we have undertaken such a project, as we have tried to cover as many schools and community halls to generate revenue out of it.”

In 2018, SDMC declared itself India’s first civic body to generate solar power through rooftop solar installations atop 55 of its buildings, earning a significant income in just three months by selling the surplus power generated to Delhi’s power distribution company BSES. The civic body claims to have earned approximately ₹0.96 million (~$0.014 million) by selling its surplus solar power.

Meanwhile, in 2019, the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) signed an MoU with the SDMC to establish the required infrastructure for electric vehicles in the SDMC area for ten years. According to the terms outlined in the MoU, the two entities will work in tandem to fast-track the adoption of e-mobility by installing 75 electric vehicle charging stations in the SDMC area.