Environment ministry headquarters to go fully solar

NEW DELHI: The country’s first “net zero” conventional energy consumption multi-storey building – the new headquarters of the environment ministry – will be completed in Jor Bagh next month. The building will meet its annual requirement of 14 lakh units of electricity by generating solar power on the site.


The environment ministry had set this target for Central Public Works Department (CPWD), which is building the Indira Paryavaran Bhawan. “It is an embodiment of almost every measure of sustainability that is possible,” CPWD director general V K Gupta said. It will also have an underground automated robotic parking for 330 cars.

Engineers who worked on the eight-storey building said the estimated annual energy demand for a conventional complex of this size is 22 lakh units, but in this case it was reduced by 30% by taking novel measures. Even rooftop areas have been increased by three-fold from 2,000 sq meters to 6,000 sq meters by building huge cantilevers so that enough monocrystalline solar PV panels can be installed.

The solar power generated in the complex, built at an expense of Rs 200 crore, will be fed back to the NDMC grid from where supply is initially taken. The solar plant will have peak generation capacity to produce 930 kilowatt (close to 1MW) power. Gupta said the extra investment to make the building net-zero conventional energy consumption would be recovered in 10 years.

Earlier in the day, speaking at the 159th CPWD day, CM Sheila Dikshit urged the organization to promote green buildings, saying such structures were the answer to rising power consumption.

The CPWD chief said the home ministry had tasked them to build an AIIMS-like medical complex for paramilitary forces at Maidan Garhi in south Delhi. Responding to a question on the progress of the Afghan parliament, Gupta said the core area and functional area will be ready by December. The remaining work would be taken up by Afghan agencies.