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Solar panels to help monuments tap free energy

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is proposing to install photovoltaic solar panels on the rooftops of all protected monuments.According to sources, the proposal has initial clearance from the ministry of culture and will be implemented in phases. Officials said that depending on the area, 5MW to 25MW solar power units would be installed at each monument site, which would help bring down power bills at the sites. There are over 3,600 protected monuments in the country, out of which 174 are in Delhi. Sources report that all centrally protected monuments with large, open areas would be considered. These include large sites like Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, Tughlaqabad Fort, Purana Qila, Safdarjung Tomb etc, where experts say there is a lot of potential for solar installations.

Officials said that the solar lens would help recover the costs of illumination and lighting during night hours. "We will have to be careful that there is no daytime penalty for installation of solar panels. We have to ensure that the installations do not obstruct any view of the monument,'' said sources. "Cities like Delhi have potential for tapping solar power. Discoms are already obliged to procure a fixed percentage of their electricity from renewable sources like solar power. Centre is taking all steps to promote green energy and the step for installing rooftop solar panels in monuments i