GUJARAT’S MODHERA TO BE FIRST FULLY SOLAR-POWERED VILLAGE: PM MODI

On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will designate Gujarat's Modhera village—famous for a centuries-old Sun temple constructed during the Chalukya era—the nation's first 24-hour solar-powered community. In the area, PM Modi will also lay the groundwork for projects worth more than 3,900 crore rupees. 

Here’s everything you need to know.

The state allocated 12 hectares of land for the solar development project, and both the national and state governments contributed over 80 crores in two phases. 

The neighbourhood includes a ground-mounted solar power plant, and over 1,300 homes have 1kW rooftop solar power systems installed to provide electricity. Each of these solar arrays is connected to a mechanism for storing energy in batteries (BESS). With this change, residents of the community might save 60% to 100% on their power costs.

 Heritage lighting has been put on the temple grounds as part of the renovation. People can visit the temple between the hours of 6 and 10 pm to see the lights. 

“Use of solar power has increased prosperity amongst citizens. Power bills were around Rs 1,000. Now electricity bills have almost been reduced to zero. Solar panels have been installed at all feasible houses, free of cost. In case of excess power, we earn extra income too,” said Jatanben Thakor, sarpanch of Modhera village.

According to the Gujarat administration, it has made sure that numerous welfare initiatives are implemented sustainably in Gujarat while also keeping in mind the Prime Minister's goal of expanding the usage of renewable energy in India.