Endowments department to set up solar power plant at Jaggaiahpet

​Vijayawada: The Endowments department in the State would soon have a solar power plant that would supply power to seven major temples. The 10 MW power plant is coming up at Jaggaiahpet area in Krishna district at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore.

The power generated from this plant would be supplied to seven temples including Kanaka Durga temple (Vijayawada), Varaha Narasimha Swamy temple (Simhachalam), Satyanarayana Swamy temple (Annavaram), Venkateswara Swamy temple (Dwaraka Tirumala), Srikalahastheeswara temple (Srikalahasti), Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy temple (Srisailam) and Varasiddhi Vinayaka Swamy temple (Kanipakam), said Endowments Principal Secretary J S V Prasad.

Speaking to media persons here on Friday, Prasad said that they have already established a 8 MW solar plant at Dwaraka Tirumala three months ago on Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT), while a similar plant is proposed at Annavaram for the local temple. The power generated at these places would be channelled through a special grid and would be supplied to seven temples, he added.

He further said that they have also adopted energy saving measures to bring down electricity consumption at the temples. He said that they have introduced star rating electrical and electronic equipments including air conditioners to save energy. They have also introduced LED bulbs at the temples to bring down the energy consumption levels, he said.

Speaking about security at the temples, the Principal Secretary said that they have proposed to install CC Cameras in 55 major temples across the State. The temples would closely monitor the movement of pilgrims at these temples, he said and added that the department would install CCTVs at other temples at a later stage.

Prasad thanked Energy Efficiency Mission CEO A Chandrasekhar Reddy, who was also present at the press conference, for conducting energy auditing for the temples in the State and suggesting energy saving measures.