Sirsi :
A house in Gurunagar has become a solar power-generating station with the owner contributing power to HESCOM. ‘Shreyas’, the residence of Shrikant Hegde, an entrepreneur, has a 5 kW-capacity solar rooftop power unit, linked to the power grid.
The state’s solar energy policy encourages individuals, societies, institutions and companies to set up grid-connected rooftop solar units, and for ESCOMs to buy power from these units. The houses have to install a two-way meter to measure the flow of power in both the directions. The scheme is administered by respective ESCOMs, including registration, approval, metering protocols, standards and safety protocol.
Hegde has signed a 25-year agreement with HESCOM to export excess solar power to its grid. He is able to contribute a surplus of 500-600 units of power per month to the HESCOM grid at Rs 9.56 per unit.
In the first five years, HESCOM will purchase power at Rs 9.56 per unit (later at revised rates fixed by Karnataka Regulatory Energy Commission). “I will earn at least Rs 60,000 per annum,” Hegde said, adding that he will recover his investment in about seven years.
On the technical side, Hegde got the support from Apollo Power Systems Private Ltd, Bengaluru, and Tejas Energy,
Sirsi. The rooftop unit has been installed at a cost of about Rs 5 lakh. Gurucharana, executive, Apollo Power Systems Private Ltd, said the project was started in November 2014 by the state government on a power-purchase agreement (PPA) for 25 years.
Sunilkumar, head of the Renewable Energy of Appollo Renewable, said that even in rainy season like in Sirsi and Malnad area, 4-5 units of power could be generated daily.
Nagendra Honnalli, assistant commissioner of Sirsi, said that he would send a proposal to the government to provide finance through cooperative societies to farmers who want to take up this project. It costs about Rs 1 lakh per 1kW capacity.
He said this project would reduce transmission losses and dissemination costs. Panduranga Pai, general manager, Sirsi Urban Cooperative Bank, has offered to provide a loan of up to 75 per cent of the cost of the project at 2 per cent interest.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Shripad Bhat / June 21st, 2015