Mumbai real estate developer Parag Shah, who owns four floors in Aaradhya Swastik in the central suburb of Mumbai, roped in Avishakti Rooftop Solar Pvt. Ltd to install 51 solar panels on his rooftop, that will cater to all of his flats, generating approximately 25,000 units of electricity annually.

 

Speaking about the motivation behind the move, Shah says, “Climate change is one of the great levelers. It doesn’t distinguish between rich and poor, and it poses a very real threat irrespective of your geographical location. It is high time every one of us stopped waiting for someone else to make the first move to combat it and started doing our own bit to take care of the environment.”

 

The rooftop solar PV plant is of 16.575 kW total DC capacity. Animesh Manek, Founder-Director, Avishakti Rooftop Solar said, “The initial investment for this project is approximately Rs 11.8 lakh, and the breakeven period is estimated at around 3 years.” The initial cost notwithstanding, what makes Avishakti Rooftop Solar’s project a sound investment that will bring dividends in the long run is the net metering system that their solar plants run on. This system sends any surplus power it generates back to the grid, and the same can then be used, i.e imported from the grid, in cases of (power) deficiency. All the customer needs to pay for is the ‘net usage’.

 

“Because you are harnessing the sun’s energy, you will be taking less from the power grid, and the advantage will be reflected in the monthly electricity bills, which will show a significant decrease. Annual savings, thanks to this project, are estimated at more than Rs 3 lakh,” Manek explained.

 

“From the financial aspect, the initial cost sure looks like a tall ask, but you will get it all back in the form of huge savings year after year. More important than that, however, is the ecological aspect. Just knowing that you are instrumental in reducing the carbon footprint is a heartening feeling. Imagine the difference we citizens can make if each one of us decided to go solar, to finally give back to the environment instead of just taking from it,” added Shah.

 

Manek added that the solar PV plant isn’t battery-operated, which not only makes it maintenance-free, but also increases its life span to 25 years. “Renewable sources of energy are the future, if we want to save our rapidly depleting planet.”