The Hindu Business Line : Pawar inaugurates energy park in Pune

The park has been set up by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Maharashtra Energy Development Authority (MEDA) with an investment of Rs 75 lakh for the first phase.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Pawar said it is high-time non-conventional energy resources are mobilised so as to reduce the burden on the already stretched out power problems in the city.

Energy resources such as hydel, solar and wind energy should be given more attention than conventional resources such as thermal and even natural gas.

"If we have to survive in the future, it is necessary that we become aware of this simple fact," Mr Pawar cautioned.

The venture has been supported by the Centre and should be taken as a role model and replicated across the length and breadth of the State, he said.

The plant is powered by a 20-kW plant with electricity generated by solar panels.

It houses pavilions named aptly wind, biomass, solar and hydro, which provides information on the different forms of non-conventional energy sources.

The outdoor exhibits include power-generating drum, battery operated bicycle, solar lantern and home lighting system as also SK-14 cookers.

An amphitheatre forms a part of the first phase while solar boating would come in the second phase, he added.

Mr Vinay Kore, the State Minister for Non-conventional Energy, said that close to 1,000 MW of energy could be saved if people utilise solar energy, especially for heating of water in high-rise buildings.

The park has an interesting history. It was the land that was owned by the Peshwas and in 1950 it was handed over to the PMC.

The park houses the toy train `Phool rani'.

A small pond for boating and a zoo was also housed in this location but due to pressures the zoo was shifted to Katraj, on the outskirts of Pune.

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