The solar power plant will be set up on a 15-acre land near the sewage treatment plant (STP) at Ukkadam. The plant will be constructed at a cost of Rs 17 crore. It will have 11,286 solar panels, each of which can produce 320 watts.

Coimbatore: The city corporation is all set to implement two of its ambitious projects under the smart city mission with a standing committee giving administrative sanction for the multi-level car parking facility at DB Road and 3.6 megawatts solar power plant at Ukkadam.

Tenders would be floated for the projects as soon as the technical sanction is obtained, a senior official from the civic body said, adding that the implementation time for the projects is about 18 months.

Explaining that the multi-level car parking facility will be set up at a cost of Rs 42 crore, the official said that the four-level facility will be able to accommodate upto 370 four-wheelers. “An automated mechanism, where human intervention is minimal, will be set up. Vehicles will be lifted from the ground and moved to the vacant parking spaces above. Workers will be appointed only for gate keeping.”

The solar power plant will be set up on a 15-acre land near the sewage treatment plant (STP) at Ukkadam. “The plant will be constructed at a cost of Rs 17 crore. It will have 11,286 solar panels, each of which can produce 320 watts. Power generated at the plants will be transferred to the main grid of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation’s (Tangedco) sub-station at Ukkadam. It will be used to offset the electricity bills of the city corporation,” the official said.

The civic body had been paying over Rs 20 crore per annum to Tangedco for power, including that used at the two STPs at Ukkadam and Ondipudur, along with the water treatment and pumping stations at Velliankadu and Pillur. 

“By offsetting the electricity bills for water treatment and pumping station at Velliankadu, the civic body will be able to save Rs 5.8 crore per annum on electricity bills,” the official added.