ROURKELA: Ground breaking ceremony for the Rs 6.37 crore 1 MW Solar PV Power Generation System was performed at Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) here today. 

Performing the ground breaking ceremony, RSP's CEO G.S.Prasad expressed satisfaction over the start of construction activities of the project which was conceived under his direction. 

He exhorted all agencies involved in the project to put in their best efforts to ensure timely completion of the project so that RSP can realize the envisaged benefits. 

It is pertinent to note that this solar power plant will be the first of its kind and scale in SAILBSE. With this, RSP has taken another major step towards fulfilling its commitment to clean and green energy, RSP said in a release. 

The 1 MW solar photovoltaic power generation systems shall generate solar-electrical power from 3465 solar photovoltaic panels installed over an area of 4.7 acres in the plant premises. 15 string inverters of 60 KW capacity each shall convert the DC power generated by the solar panels to 415VAC power. This in turn shall be stepped up to 6.6 kV through one 1600 kVA transformer, it said. 

The power generation system shall be connected to the RSP power system at Administration sub-station, located an approximate distance of 1.2 kM from the project site. 

M/s Rays Power Infra Pvt. Ltd, Jaipur are the contractors for setting up the plant which will cost Rs. 6.37 crore. The Project is being executed by Power Distribution Department of RSP and M/s Canyon Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. are the consultants for the project, it said. 

The solar installation is scheduled to start power generation by June 15, 2015. The plant is expected to generate 16,48,000 kWH of electrical energy in its first year of operation and the design life of the plant is twenty years. Power generated from the installation shall be used to meet the Renewable Power Obligation (RPO) prescribed by Orissa Electricity Regulatory Commission.