Largest rooftop solar plant in state inaugurated at Hindustan Shipyard Limited

Visakhapatnam: Collector Pravin Kumar inaugurated 2-MW rooftop solar power plant at Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) on Friday. The solar plant, the largest rooftop solar plant in the state, will help the shipyard to save Rs 48 lakh per annum in energy costs, while also reducing environmental footprint.

The rooftop solar plant will meet 35 per cent of shipyard’s total power consumption, with 28 lakh units of clean solar energy being generated annually by the plant.

Chairman and Managing Director of HSL Rear Admiral LV Sarat Babu presided over the programme. Mahesh Chandra Laddha, Commissioner of Police, M Hari Narayanan, Commissioner of GVMC, SK Mishra, Director, Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), Umakant Shende, COO, Clean Max, graced the occasion.

Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) explained the unique capabilities and facilities of the shipyard as well as about various shipbuilding, ship repairs and submarine repair projects.

The CMD highlighted the remarkable turnaround of the company by posting profits consecutively for last three years, the first time in the past four decades. HSL also achieved the highest ever turnover during 2017-18 in its 75 years of marathon innings and explained that the HSL has signed the contract with MoD for the construction of two Diving Support Vessels (DSV) worth Rs 2,020 crore.

Explaining about the solar power plant, the CMD said that the project, including design, supply, erection, testing, commissioning, warranty, operation and maintenance, is being undertaken by Clean Max without any operation and capital expenditure from the HSL. The HSL is required to buy the generated power from Clean Max at a cost of Rs 3.939- KWh as against Rs.5.60/kWh grid power of APEPDCL.

On the occasion, Umakant Shende, Chief Operating Officer, Clean Max Solar, said that the project is a challenging to the company due to the security requirements, high inclined roofs and high wind speed. However, the company has executed the project within the project timeline and yet with strict adherence to safety and quality standards as in every project.