Union coal secretary SK Srivastava (below) at CMPDI, which commissioned a solar power plant on the rooftop of its main office building in Ranchi, on Thursday. (Hardeep Singh)

In a giant leap in the field of clean energy, Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI), Ranchi, — the think tank of Coal India Ltd — successfully commissioned a solar power plant on the rooftop of its main office building in Kanke on Thursday.

Union coal secretary S.K. Srivastava inaugurated the plant capable of producing 200KW energy and is being touted as the largest solar plant in Jharkhand.

The annual capacity of the rooftop solar plant is about 3 lakh units and it will meet 30 per cent of the energy requirements of CMPDI. According to a source, the annual energy consumption of CMPDI office campus is about 14 lakh units. The plant will also reduce carbon dioxide emission into the environment by 2.5 lakh kg a year.

“The solar power plant is the result of great efforts and initiatives taken by chairman-cum-managing director of CMPDI A.K. Debnath. Clean and renewable energy generation is going to play a major role in meeting the energy requirement of the country,” said Srivastava adding that Coal India had also signed an MoU with the Union ministry of new and renewable energy to set up a 1000MW solar power plant in the coming years.

Showering praise on CMPDI for its role in developing the coal sector in the country, the secretary pointed out that the company needed to extend its services outside Coal India and serve the entire mineral sector of the country.

On the working of the new plant, the company source said that the power generated through it would be fed into the internal grid of CMPDI campus.

“CMPDI relies on the state electricity board for supply of power to meet its energy requirements. In case of power failure, back up is ensured through its three diesel generating sets — one with an installed capacity of 500KVA and two others each of 250KVA capacity,” the source said.

The longevity of the solar plant is about 25 years and requires very little maintenance. Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute acted as sub-implementing agency for the project.

The solar power plant is also likely to help CMPDI save on costs. The cost per unit of power supplied by state electricity board is Rs 5.40 and additional cost of Rs 15 per unit is incurred for the three diesel generators. The cost of the solar energy will be only Rs 6 per unit.

Apart from inaugurating the plant, the Union coal secretary also reviewed implementation strategies of the ongoing fiscal (2014-15) related to coal production, dispatch, stock, availability of land, performance of washeries, utilisation of machines, CSR activities amid other things at the Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) office in Ranchi.

Addressing the heads of departments and area general managers of CCL, Srivastava said the coal industry faced a big challenge of acquiring land for carrying out its mining activities apart from a host of other local issues.

“The challenges notwithstanding, the coal secretary stressed that CCL should meet its annual target of coal production of 56 million tonne,” he signed off.