Bangalore streets may go solar after elections

Bangalore streets may go solar after elections

Move afoot to promote LED lanterns

Bosky Khanna. Bangalore

Solar lamps are the ideal solution to beat the problem of power cuts in urban and rural areas and also to save energy.
To make this effective, officials of the Karnataka Renewable Energy Department Limited (KREDL) are promoting the usage of solar lamps. They are also seeking help form the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom).
Solar lanterns, with their light emitting diodes (LEDs), have been found to be high energy savers. Hence, KREDL has reinvented these lanterns to help conserve energy and it is now seeking help from Bescom to instal these energy saving devices even in the farthest corners of the state.
A senior KREDL official said, "Once the elections are over, we will request Bescom officials to help us promote LED solar lanterns, which are much more effective than other forms of lights."
Figures until June 2008 show that the department has installed solar lights in 23,000 homes. It has also installed 2,271 solar streetlights across the state. It has also sold 11.5 lakh solar water heaters, each with a 100-litre capacity, and 7,734 solar lanterns and has set up eight solar power plants.
Now, the department is keen on promoting the sales of their LED solar lights.
Each LED solar light, with a 3.6-volt battery and a 2-watt solar panel, costs about Rs2,000. The battery can run up to 10 hours after being charged for four hours.
"We are presently in talks with Bescom officials to chalk put plans for various energy conservation programmes. But if they help us promote these solar LED lanterns, it'll help solve power cut problems even in urban areas, especially during examination times. Plans to sell them at subsidised rates will also be chalked out. These also come with a one-year warranty. We will request BESCOM to promote these LEDs as an alternative in all those rural areas where they are promoting compact fluorescent lights (CFLs)," he said.