Armed Forces taking initiatives towards energy efficiency: Air Marshal Kukreja

NEW DELHI - Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff, DCIDS (Operations) Air Marshal D. Kukreja on Thursday said the Armed Forces have taken a major initiative towards adopting energy efficiency and conservation in operations and cantonment complexes.

Under the programme, the day is not far when the Jawan treading up the Siachen glacier along with his platoon would need not carry the heavy batteries; instead the Army is planning to replace dry and wet batteries with solar power packs.

Addressing a daylong seminar on ‘Renewable Energy for Defence Services’ in the national capital, Air Marshal Kukreja said that the three services have completed an energy audit of few major installations.

“At least one building in each Command would soon meet the GRIHA standards and the ball has been set rolling by the Engineer-in-Chief’s branch,” Air Marshal Kukreja added.

The GRIHA, an acronym for the ‘Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment’, is an energy efficiency classification scale awarded to environment friendly buildings by The Energy Research Institute (TERI).

The Union New and Renewable Energy Ministry also recognize GRIHA for granting subsidies in registration and various other charges.

Calling upon the services to take the initiative, Air Marshal S.C. Mukul, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CIDS), said that while the renewable energy generation still costs three to four times that of conventional energy sources, the high fuel transportation costs to high-altitude areas and the comparatively more lifecycle of solar energy, around 20 years, place non-conventional energy utilization at an advantage. (ANI)