Diu – Country’s First Solar Energy Surplus Union Territory

Diu has become the country's first energy surplus Union Territory. The reason being it is using solar energy. Diu is a model for an effective way for people to harness the renewable energy source.

Within a span of three years, Diu has made rapid progress in solar power generation. The Union Territory has an area of just 42 square kilometers. Despite the scarcity of land, the solar plants have been installed over more than 50 acres of the space.

Currently, it generates 13 megawatts (MW) of electricity entirely from solar power generating facilities on a daily basis. Around 3MW is produced by rooftop solar plants and 10 MW is generated by other solar plants.

Before three years, the people in Diu consumed electricity supplied from the Gujarat government's power grid, resulting in substantial line losses. Once the local power company started using solar energy to generate the electricity, the electricity loss was significantly reduced.

Daman and Diu electricity department executive engineer Milind Ingle said, "The population of Diu is only 56,000. For water and electricity, the Union territory was solely dependent on the Gujarat government. To overcome this limitation, the administration of the Union territory decided to set up solar power plants in Diu."

Ingle said, "Diu's peak-time demand for electricity goes up to 7 MW, and we generate about 10.5 MW of electricity from solar energy daily. This is way more than the consumption demand requirement."

He further added that "solar power has come as a big relief for residents as their monthly bill charges have fallen by around 12%. Previously, the 0-50 units charge was Rs 1.20 per unit and 50-100 units was Rs 1.50 per unit. But once the solar power plants began operating, the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission for Goa and the Union territories removed the 0-50 units slab. They now have revised the 1-100 units charge to Rs 1.01per unit".