Raktima Bose 3 more solar power plants for West Bengal Solar energy-run housing complex set up at New Town in Kolkata Aim is to achieve zero-carbon emission KOLKATA: West Bengal is pitching in in a big way to find alternative sources of power in the face of rising fuel cost and growing global warming. It is slated to get three more solar power plants in Purulia and Bankura districts, after the one at Asansol in Burdwan district, first of its kind in Southeast Asia, S.P. Gon Chaudhuri, Director, West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Authority (WBREDA), on Wednesday. Private firms' role Mr. Chaudhuri said here: "Private companies like Videocon and Astonfield are investing around Rs. 350 crore in setting up the solar plants with a total capacity of 17 megawatts.' The plants were expected to come up by the middle of 2009 and reduce the negative environmental impacts of fossil fuels. In another development, a solar energy-run housing complex project at New Town here by the WBREDA took the State a step toward achieving zero-carbon emission in the future. Another first of their kind in the country, the 25 houses in the complex, Rabi Rashmi Abasan, can save daily up to 100 kilowatts, which requires 100 kg of coal. Going by this calculation, nearly 36 tonnes of coal can be saved from polluting the city air, already saturated with carbon dioxide. Built on two acres of land at a cost of Rs. 12 crore, the houses are fitted with photovaltaic panels to trap solar energy and convert it into usable electricity. "The excess power is pushed to the grid of the State Electricity Board and the balance is adjusted for each house's total consumption of electricity,' said Mr. Chaudhuri. This was known as the "net meter system.' Passive architecture Mr. Chaudhuri said: "The complex has been built using the solar passive architecture so as to keep it cool during summer and warm during winter.' Also, water heaters run by solar power were installed atop each house. "Such innovative ideas would be adopted in the near future in the housing and transport sectors to attain an environment-friendly and energy-efficient alternative to conventional energy.' Pacts signed Similar projects were in the pipeline and the State government had already signed a memorandum of understanding with DLF India and the Kolkata-based Siddha group to build environment-friendly residential complexes in Rajarhat township.