Green flag for power incentives

Chittaranjan Tembhekar & Rebecca Samervel | TNN

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) in an order on Thursday allowed units generating at least 50 KW of power from renewable sources to sell it to the state grid, with attractive returns of between 19-24% for those who do so. A good proposition for housing societies and other such small units in and around the city who harness the wind or sun for some of their power needs. The BMC itself in fact plans to generate up to 15 KW of power from bio-mass, though that proposal is yet to take off. TOI speaks to two societies which use green power and finds mixed reactions.

Almost one-and-a-half years ago when Mansukhbhai Patel, a builder in Navi Mumbai, began generating 6 KW (30 units per day) of electricity from wind and solar machines installed atop his newly built building — Lords Apartment in Belapur— it was to have a green supplement to the regular power sources. Following Thursday’s CERC decision to encourage people to generate more wind, solar or biomass power and sell it to the state grid, Patel is a happy man. He plans a slightly bigger windmill business if he can acquire additional space close to the building along the Belapur creek.

Two years ago he invested around Rs 17 lakh to install three wind power generators with solar panel back ups. Situated right across the Belapur fort along the creek, the power generated lights up the apartment’s lobbies, parking areas, garden and there is an emergency back-up, enough power to light up four twobedroom flats every day. The location of the building close to the creek gives it an advantage—a good wind speed.

Patel’s excitement is not without reason. Sunil Tonge, a renewable power expert said if Patel increases his investment to Rs 1 crore, including construction costs, and installs around 8 windmills of 7 KW capacity each, or 25 fans of 2 KW capacity, it will bring huge benefits for him. He said 1 KW power per day helps burn 5 units enough to run a 40 watt tube and 60 watt ceiling fan for around 10 hours a day. The life of a windmill with solar panel back-up put together is 20 years. If there is no sufficient air, the solar panel attached to it helps generate the day’s deficit.

The 50 KW windmills can generate close to 250 units per day and nearly 1 lakh units (91,250 to be precise) a year and if Patel puts that in the grid over the year he could earn around Rs 6 to 8 lakh as will get Rs 8 per unit as incentive from the renewable energy department, making his total expenses on the venture very less. By this calculation, Patel can recoup his investment within eight to nine years and make profits for at least 11 years.

Power expert and consumer activist Ashok Pendsey said the return on investment offered in the new policy is attractive and takes care of loans and depreciation involved in the business. “It will enthuse people involved in generation of small quantum of power to generate more and get into the business,” he added.

When Navin Chandra, the general secretary of Sealine society at Bandra (W) installed solar panels on the roof top of his building between 2005-06 at a cost of Rs 9 lakh, it was deemed a lifetime investment. The three sets of 8 panels each, installed between 2006-07, generate two kilowatts (KW) per hour per day of renewable solar power, which can be used to light a maximum of 50 lights for about five hours.

But asked if the new CERC policy would benefit him, the septugenarian said he could not make much sense of some of its complexities. “The proposal requires us to approach a nodal agency first. This may bring a lot of red tape into play,” he said.

Chandra also maintains that a bigger problem is the stipulation that the excess power can’t be stored and has to be released to the grid at night. “This means we cannot use the power at night and not store the solar power. This would defy the purpose of saving power for emergencies,” he added.

“A small society like ours has expanded a great deal but still managed to generate only 2 KW. With maximum expansion, we might be able to double power generation but that would not be enough,” he said. Chandra however said buildings under construction can put in place necessary infrastructure. Moreover, smaller buildings like his can come together to generate power that can be sold.

“This is a step in the right direction. It can be a solution to all our power shortage woes. Ultimately, solar and wind power generation is the main solution to the 500MW power shortage the city is facing,” he said.

(Top) Mansukhbhai Patel and the windmills atop Lords Apartment in Belapur; Navin Chandra with the solar panels on his housing society

He can put the 1 lakh units of green power in the state’s grid and get an average incentive of Rs 8 lakh from the renewable energy department. So his actual spending on power generation and usage will be very less

The venture can turn profitable after eight to nine years Currently wind power costs up to Rs 4 per unit while solar power costs up to Rs 12 per unit

Under the new policy the government will offer a rate of return up to a maximum of 24% and there is scope to negotiate the rate based on capital expenditure and other expenses