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Delhi's Municipal Corporation plans to install rooftop solar panels on 989 buildings, targeting 10-15 MW of capacity to reduce electricity costs and reliance on conventional power sources.
The project will be executed under the RESCO model by NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN), leveraging their existing spare capacity and offering financially viable tariffs.
This initiative significantly contributes to India's national clean energy goals, aiming for 50% non-fossil fuel electricity capacity and a 45% reduction in emissions intensity by 2030.
The large-scale public sector adoption demonstrates a strong commitment to sustainable urban infrastructure and sets a precedent for other municipal bodies.
New Delhi's Municipal Corporation (MCD) is poised to significantly expand its renewable energy footprint, with plans to install rooftop solar power plants on 989 municipal buildings. This strategic initiative, aimed at reducing dependency on conventional power sources and lowering electricity costs, is expected to yield a potential capacity of 10 to 15 megawatts (MW), subject to a detailed investment-grade energy audit. The proposal is slated for discussion in the upcoming MCD House meeting, signaling a major step towards sustainable urban infrastructure.
The ambitious project will be executed in collaboration with NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC, under the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model. This model is financially advantageous for the MCD, as NVVN will bear the upfront costs of installation, operation, and maintenance. Reimbursement will occur over time through a fixed tariff per unit of solar energy generated, as stipulated in a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). This approach mitigates financial risk for the civic body while ensuring long-term energy cost predictability.
Currently, MCD operates 574 solar photovoltaic plants across its buildings, with a cumulative capacity of 13.25 MWp, including installations from the erstwhile South, North, and East Delhi municipal corporations. A notable precedent was set between 2022 and 2024, when NVVN commissioned 26 rooftop plants totaling 1.08 MWp at a levelized tariff of ₹4.72 per kWh. Leveraging this successful partnership, MCD intends to utilize NVVN's available surplus capacity of 10-15 MW from its ongoing rooftop solar projects on Delhi Police buildings, a move designed to fast-track deployment on municipal properties.
Officials indicate that the proposed indicative tariff for these new installations will range from ₹4.25 to ₹4.92 per unit, contingent on rooftop capacity. This pricing is considered more financially viable than rates previously quoted by the Delhi government-owned IPGCL, whose alternative proposal has since been set aside. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) further solidified NTPC's role in January 2024 by designating it as the Renewable Energy Implementing Agency for Delhi, specifically to accelerate rooftop solar adoption across government buildings.
This large-scale solar expansion by the MCD is not merely a local cost-saving measure; it directly contributes to India's broader clean energy objectives. Under its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, India aims to achieve 50 percent of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030 and reduce emissions intensity by 45 percent. The deployment across nearly a thousand municipal buildings, including schools, offices, and community facilities, underscores the public sector's commitment to these national targets, setting a significant precedent for other urban centers to follow in their pursuit of sustainable development and energy independence.