Considering the need for clean and renewable energy in the country, a Rooftop Solar plant has been installed at the Centenary Farmer’s Market in Thimphu. It is the largest solar installation in the country with a capacity of 250 kilowatts. The project which is implemented by His Majesty’s Secretariat was commissioned today coinciding with the Birth Anniversary of Her Majesty The Gyaltsuen. The plant is expected to generate over 360,000 units of electricity annually.
During the commissioning ceremony today, the Minister for Energy and Natural Resources, Lok Nath Sharma said that it is an excellent initiative to generate electricity during winter which is an off-season for hydropower.
The status of the project and power generation is displayed in the control room at CFM.
Although the rooftop solar plant is installed at the Centenary Farmer’s Market, the electricity generated will be directly fed to the Bhutan Power Corporation’s grid which means it will be supplied to the consumers.
The project has largely been undertaken by Bhutanese engineers. Apart from monitoring, testing and quality assurance by a foreign expert, 13 DeSuups from the DeSuung Skilling Programme and engineers carried out the work.
The project titled CFM Solar Rooftop started in December last year and was completed in six months.
The Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation provided a grant of over Nu 16 M.
A little over Nu 13 M was spent on the project.
The project has been implemented to work towards the country’s energy security needs.
Likewise, the project also strives to establish the technical and economic viability of solar panels in the country and pave the way for both private and public entities in the country.
Bhutan Solar Initiative Project has been instituted under the Royal Command of His Majesty the King to advance solar photovoltaic energy initiatives in the country to build local capacity in the area.
Devika Pradhan
