By Solar Times Bureau
Preparing for a #future ready India, Tata Power, the country’s largest integrated utility is making a big push for a stronger adoption of clean energy by expanding its rooftop solar offerings to 90 cities.
The big rollout from Tata Power is also coming at a time when consumers across all major categories including commercial, industrial, residential and public sector are now adopting solar energy as a reliable and sustainable solution to meet their energy needs that also holds tremendous potential to save costs.
Since the launch of customizable rooftop solar solutions on a pan-India basis in September 2018, ringing testimonials of happy customers continues to pour in on the value of Tata Power rooftop solar solutions across all categories of power consumers.
Apoorva Jhaveri, Bhilosa Industries, a leading polyester yarn manufacturer in India said, “In less than a year since our management decided to commit wholeheartedly to clean energy, we have installed almost 3 MW of rooftop solar at our plant in Silvassa. Both from an environmental sustainability and costs, this is perhaps one of the best investments we have made in the recent past. With savings in excess of 4.5 million power units so far, we are now expanding it by another 3 MW with full confidence that Tata Power will continue to deliver value for us.”
Similarly, Balaji Wafers, a homegrown food products company that is based in Rajkot, Gujarat said that a saving of 7 lakh units of power and around Rs 50 lakh is now expanding its investment in rooftop solar at its factories in Valsad and Indore. “The value proposition of Tata Power rooftop solar is quite compelling. We will continue to invest in this,” said Jai Sachdev, Head – Marketing at Balaji Wafers.
Dinesh Lakhani, a Tata Power Channel Partner, emphasizes that rooftop solar offers a valuable source of energy that combats climate change. With this as his inspiration, Dinesh has been associated with Tata Power for rendering these services for more than 7 years. By installing 10+ MW of rooftop systems already, Mr Lakhani aims to contribute more towards building a greener and cleaner tomorrow by reducing carbon footprint.
For Mr Abid Siddiqui, Plant Head, Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd., the main factor that accentuates the importance of rooftop solar panels is that they are a clean mode of energy and require very low maintenance.
As early adopters of new ideas and technologies, positive experiences of commercial and industrial consumers ushers in big changes in the power sector too. Consumers in these two categories also usually seek value for money that also delivers on their sustainability objectives.
Mr. Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD, Tata Power said, “Solar Rooftops not only offer an economical and clean alternative to conventional energy sources but also deliver reliability. With the increased adoption of RTS by consumers, we are confident that our solar rooftop solutions will play a big role in improving energy access across the country, in both urban and rural parts.”
Mr. Ashish Khanna, President, Tata Power (Renewables), said, “It is our endeavor to offer consumers the option of clean and green energy, which is not only cost-effective but also helps them in energy conservation. With RTS, we aim to achieve our Company’s objective of ‘Lighting up Lives’.”
Rooftop solar installations are also attaining grid parity in many residential sectors of India. Electricity prices keep on fluctuating from time to time. However, when it comes to electricity generated by solar rooftops, the price of power generated can be calculated easily. In fact, one can even calculate the cost of electricity generation for another 10 years.
Therefore, for Tata Power’s residential society & institutional customers like Samarth Aangan, Malad (180KW), Yarrow Yucca Vinka, Chandivali (240 KW), Cardinal Gracias Hospitals, Mira Road (220KW), Planet Godrej C.H.S., Mahalakshmi East (60 KW), WeWorks, Saki Naka (30KW) etc., this proves to be a good manner in which to optimize saving on electricity consumption. These conscious citizens are not only able to cut down their electricity bills significantly but also able to calculate and keep a track of the electricity used.
The rising popularity of RTS within the Indian power sector is also an outcome of the increasing share of renewable or green energy in the country. So far, Tata Power has installed over 375+ MW of rooftop projects, including some of the most industrialized states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Major cities like Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Surat, Baroda, Delhi, Gurgaon, Agra, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Varanasi, Guwahati, Kolkata, Dhanbad, Puri, Vizag, Vellore, Mysore, Coimbatore and Chennai are also proud proponents of Solar Rooftop Solutions.
Tata Power Solar has also built utility scale projects in 13 states in the country with a total capacity of around 2.76 GW. In 2017, the company executed a 2.6 megawatt (MW) solar rooftop plant at the carport of Kochi International Airport. Incidentally, this is India’s largest solar-powered carport.
Video Link for experience sharing of solar users : https://youtu.be/qzxcZJgpu3Y