DJB's first hydroelectric plant commissioned.

After announcing a plan to install solar roof top panels across its various water and sewage treatment plants, Delhi Jal Board commissioned its first-ever hydroelectric plant recently. The plant, a first for Delhi, is expected to generate 20,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually.

The plant is located at DJB's 9 million gallons per day capacity sewage treatment plant at Chilla. 'The plant will run on a hydraulic turbine which will be propelled by treated effluent being discharged from the STP. The treated effluent falls from a height of 4.8 m which, due to created pressure and velocity, leads to the rotation of the turbine which will then generate power,' said a DJB official.

'This is a pilot project which has been set up free of cost. The in-house generation of hydro electric power will help in reducing air pollution and help DJB save on expenditure on power. The project will be considered for other STPs as well. We have been looking at various ways to cut down on emissions and realized that the Board has both water sources and lots of land for solar projects,' said an official.

The water utility had proposed setting up of solar roof top panels at other installations as well last month. The proposal was cleared at a DJB meeting and a plan has been worked out to implement it. The proposed capacity available at the rooftops areas of various installations is 16,000 kilowatts. It is estimated that DJB will be able to generate 2.1 crore units of power annually which will eventually lead to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore. A major chunk of DJB's expenditure is on power to run its massive water and sewage treatment plants.

TOI