Gujarat BSF to use solar energy to power its remote border outposts

Ahmedabad: In an innovative effort to fight electricity crisis in forward areas, Gujarat Frontier of the Border Security Force (BSF) is all set to use solar energy for its outposts located in remote border areas, where no electrification is possible till date. Union Minister of State for Home and top BSF officials confirmed that Gujarat frontier will soon set up a five megawatt solar energy plant and also separately electrify 20 Border Out Posts (BoPs) by solar energy [caption id=“attachment_2296020” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] . “Gujarat frontier BSF has given me a proposal about the solar power project. It will come up soon,” Haribhai Chaudhary, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs told PTI over phone. Chaudhary however did not divulged details like cost of the same project. “I can only tell about the cost aspects once I will reach Delhi on Tuesday,” the minister said. Inspector General of Gujarat Frontier of BSF Santosh Mehra said there are two projects on solarisation, one is a five megawatt solar plant in Nalabet area in border district of Banaskantha and in another project 20 BoPs will be lightened up with solar energy. “In Nalabet area we are going to have about five megawatt solar plant. Some progress is there. The land has been identified and this solar plant will come up,” Mehra told PTI. “In another project, we have identified about 20 BoPs (in Banaskantha and Kutch districts),which will stand alone on solar power generation system. No electrification has taken place in these BoPS. Only source of electricity over there is generator,” he said. “Now, for generators we have to send diesel through tankers. But if the generator is not working there then there would be no electricity,” he added. “So we have proposed to Centre and in fact the MoS for Home Affairs Haribhai Chaudhary promised to do it and we had sent a list to him through proper channel requesting that these 20 BoPs can be electrified with stand alone system of the photo-voltaic solar system itself,” Mehra said. “These photo voltaic cells will be laid on roofs and terraces of the composite BoPs and will make them (BoPs) stand alone solar system,” he explained. BSF officials said that electricity produced from this plant will be used in various centres of BSF. The photo-voltaic system is a method of converting solar energy into direct current of electricity by using the semi-conducting materials. BSF Gujarat frontier, which consists of three sectors namely Barmer in Rajasthan, Gandhinagar and Bhuj sectors, is securing an border area of 741 kms sharing with Pakistan. And unlike other frontiers of BSF, Gujarat frontier has three distinct types of topography like desert, marshy region and creek areas, due to which electrification has not become possible. PTI