Thanjavur: The new collectorate building in Thanjavur is powered by solar energy, thanks to the visionary idea of the former Collector Dr N Subbaiyan. With the solar power plant in place, the collectorate is saving Rs 1.5 lakh in electricity bill.

The 37 lakh solar power plant is capable of supplying enough energy to power all the 18 rooms here, including the collector’s chamber, DRO’s chamber and conference hall located on the first floor, the main meeting hall, GDP hall, visitors’ control room on the ground floor and portico. They are equipped with 1.5 to 2 tonne capacity air-conditioners, besides fans and LED lights and other electronic devices.

The collectorate master complex, constructed at a cost of Rs 35 crore near the Tamil University on the Thanjavur-Trichy National Highway, was unveiled by late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa through video conferencing in June 2015.

“The idea was to reduce the electricity bill almost by 50 per cent and convert the collectorate into a green campus. To start off, solar panels were erected on the collectorate’s open terrace. The vehicles’ shed too was constructed with solar panels atop its roof. The solar power plant now produces 50 kw of energy,” said Dr Subbaiyan, who is now the Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation, Chennai.

Till March 2016, the collectorate building had been consuming around 100 kw of energy which cost Rs 2 lakh in electricity bill. With the solar power plant in place now, the bill has been reduced to Rs 70,000. The solar powered plant produces 200 units of electricity per day and the solar grid will produce energy for the next 25 years. The power plant also has a bi-directional meter which can return unused power to the grid, Dr Subbaiyan said.