Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust to harness solar power

India's largest container port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) will now harness solar energy and reduce its dependency on conventional electricity from the grid, the government on Wednesday said.

"JNPT is installing solar power plant on several rooftops in its township and commercial premises. This green initiative by JNPT is part of its push towards becoming the most sustainable energy generation port organisation in India," Ministry of Shipping said in a statement.

Rooftop solar plants allow the use of building roofs for sustainable energy generation, also ensuring financial savings.

With this new initiative, JNPT is expected to get a payback on its investment on rooftop solar within 2.5 years due to its high cost of grid electricity (around Rs 14 per unit).

"This 822 KWp of solar rooftop capacity is being installed at an expense of Rs 4.5 crore, supported by a 15 per cent subsidy from SECI (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy).

"The project once commissioned will generate around 9.9 lakh units of electricity thereby saving around Rs 1.08 crore of electricity expense for JNPT in the first year," the statement said.