CHENNAI: In yet another green initiative, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to make it mandatory for all new multistorey (more than four floors) buildings in the state to have solar power generation facility.

Announcing this in the assembly on Tuesday, chief minister J Jayalalithaa said the rule would be applicable to all group developments (with more than eight dwelling units) also. In effect, it will cover almost 90% of residential and commercial developments in cities like Chennai and Coimbatore, say experts.

Last time the state government came out with such a major environment-friendly initiative in the housing sector was in 2001 when rainwater harvesting structures were made mandatory for all buildings. The state is also a pioneer in the renewable energy sector with an installed wind energy capacity of more than 8,000MW, and has come out with a policy pushing solar power generation.

"As the cities grow and transform living standards of citizens, the demand for power also goes up. Keeping in mind the commitment to generate clean energy, all buildings will have to install solar power panels," the CM said. To make it compulsory, the government would introduce amendments in the law, she said.

Officials said the rules regarding solar panel installation in new buildings were yet to be framed and hence the government is yet to set any minimum requirement with regard to the generation capacity for buildings. However, it would depend on the size of buildings - bigger the building, higher the generation capacity, said an official.

