THE Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanams, the richest temple administration next only to the Vatican, is perhaps the first of its kind to wake up to the bleak reality of dwindling energy resources and take concrete action to preserve and protect the environment.
With a daily pilgrim traffic of between 50,000 and one lakh, Tirumala bustles with activity. The consequent strain on the infrastructure needs no elaboration. Pumping water to the hill station to provide civic amenities, keeping the township and the temple precincts lighted 24x7 and preparing laddu prasadam inside the temple to cater to the immense demand was a cause for concern, until the administration thought of harnessing the power of renewable energy sources such as the wind and the sun.
The location of Tirumala on the geologically significant Seshachalam hill range has come as a blessing in disguise to tap wind power while the ever-shining tropical sun has turned out to be a natural advantage.
In 2003, the TTD okayed a proposal of Suzlon Energy Limited to generate 10 MW of power by constructing 10 wind turbines at a cost of Rs.4.5 crore each at the nearby Kakulakonda forest. Six turbines have been put in place while the remaining four, planned for installation in the area under reserve forests, are expected to get the clearance by the year end. The land was offered to the company on a build-lease-operate-transfer basis for 10 years and the units are estimated to be in operation for 20 years. Enercon India has installed two units, which generate an additional 1.1 MW, free of cost, as an offering to the deity. With power supply at Rs.1.99 a unit against the regular rate of Rs.4.40 (the wheeling compensation of 11.92 per cent apart), the TTD has been able to save Rs.5.73 crore, which means a whopping Rs.1.4 crore per annum. This more than explains its resolve to keep the hills clean and green.
Tirumala can pride itself on having the worlds largest solar steam cooking system, which is designed to cook meals for 15,000 persons a day. Every day, the TTD provides free food to around 25,000 devotees, and the exhaustive process of cooking for such a large gathering goes on for 14 hours.
The steam cooker works on automatic tracking technology, which moves along the suns direction, concentrates and collects the rays for two hours during noontime. As devotees prefer to tonsure their heads as a fulfilment of their vows, there is round-the-clock demand for hot water. When geysers were found to consume enormous quantities of power, the TTD installed solar water heaters at its guest houses and pilgrim amenities complexes. It provides a mind-boggling 1.63 lakh litres of hot water a day without inflicting any additional burden on itself. This way, it has been able to save 22.5 lakh units of power a year.
A project is on to install 45 solar-powered streetlights on the two ghat roads at a cost of Rs.29,000 each. Similarly, incandescent GSL bulbs are being replaced with compact fluorescent lamps. Although the TTD had to cough up a huge amount as the initial cost, the investment was recouped in a mere eight months, thanks to the deflated power bills. Similarly, plans are afoot to use the energy-efficient T5 bulbs for all the 2,000 electrical fittings in its administrative block downhill, as they offer better luminescence at half the power. This way, it has been planned to save 14 units of power an hour.
The TTD is also poised to create a record of sorts by getting down to trading in carbon credits. (The tradable permit scheme provides a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by giving them a monetary value.)
A.D. RangarajanCOMMents
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