Gandhinagar: The agriculture, animal husbandry, farmers’ welfare and cooperation department will install rooftop solar systems at 800 offices across Gujarat, a move expected to save nearly Rs 2.5 crore annually in electricity expenses. Letters of Intent (LoIs) were issued to implementing agencies in Gandhinagar on Friday through the Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA).The project is slated for implementation during the 2026-27 financial year and will add 2.5MW of rooftop solar capacity. It is expected to generate about 32 lakh units of green electricity every year, averaging around 8,750 units per day. The initiative aims to reduce govt power expenditure while promoting clean energy adoption and energy security.Agriculture minister Jitu Vaghani said the department would become the first in the state to equip all its offices and units with rooftop solar panels. He added that the model would later be replicated across other govt departments, with the long-term goal of bringing all state govt offices under rooftop solar coverage.The installations will be carried out at a variety of govt facilities, including agricultural research and training centres, universities, veterinary disease investigation centres, veterinary hospitals, and nurseries. The state govt is also planning to extend solar infrastructure to warehouses, sheds and domes at agricultural marketing yards across Gujarat.Vaghani also appealed to cooperative institutions, department officials and employees to install rooftop solar systems at their homes and motivate at least five others to adopt the technology, helping expand the use of renewable energy across the state.
