The 13th-century Sun temple at Konark and the Konark town will be fully illuminated by solar power from next financial year.

The Grid Corporation of Odisha (Gridco) said: “A power purchase agreement was signed between Gridco and M/S Konark Suryanagari Private Limited for procurement of 10mw solar power toward 100 per cent solarisation of Konark Sun temple and Konark town under MNRE (ministry of new and renewable energy) scheme.”

Gridco has also shared the information through its Twitter handle.

As per the agreement, solar power will be available for 25 years from 2023-24 at a tariff Rs 2.77 per kWh (killowatt hour) without having any central sector transmission charges and losses.

Meanwhile, the Odisha government has earmarked Rs 150 crore for the development of the area under the Konark Heritage Development Project.

Under the project, the development work that will be taken up includes the up-gradation of the entrance of the Sun Temple, landscaping and the development of pedestrian areas, parking, and revamping of the open-air theatre.

To prevent the effects of the saline wind on the Sun temple, the state government also plans to plant a large number of casuarina trees around the temple complex as well as along the coastline to diminish the wind effect.

“A permanent weather monitoring station may be installed at the site to capture the real-time data of salt-laden winds impacting the wind,” said an official.