India is the World’s poster child for renewable energy sector
“India is the World’s poster child for renewable energy sector and so installing rooftop PV project over schools in its capital was an ideal choice” Sunil Dayal Cover Story/Oct/2017
Interview with Sunil Dayal, Business Head of Benara Solar. Mr. Dayal is an IIT alumnus and has earlier worked at leadership positions with Lanco Solar, Orange Renewables and Azure Power. He has been instrumental in concept to commissioning activities of more than 1000 MW solar PV plants in India in the last decade.
Why Solar rooftop project over schools?
Over the past decade electricity prices are rising and the cost of energy is expected to continue to increase over time. Volatile prices set on the utility market can make it difficult for schools to plan and budget for the future. A clear way to take control of energy costs is to go the autonomous route by installing solar to generate your own power from the school’s rooftop. India is the world’s poster child for solar and so installing rooftop project over schools in the capital of India was an ideal choice.
Tell us something about your MoU with South Delhi Municipal Corporation?
SDMC in its pursuit to reduce carbon foot-print in the capital of India has come up with several green initiatives viz. installation of rooftop solar, adoption of LED street lighting system. One of them is the installation of 2.5 MW rooftop solar plant on 55 school buildings in Delhi. We at Benara Solar had signed an MoU with SDMC in early 2017 for design, engineering, supply, testing and commissioning of the grid-connected 2.5 MW Solar PV Project including operation and maintenance for a period of 7 years. The solar PV Project covers 55 school buildings under SDMC spread across all the zones of SDMC viz. Central, South, West and Najafgarh.
What PV technology did you utilise here?
The Solar project utilises India made polycrystalline modules aligning itself with the Make in India scheme of the Government of India. The technology employed ensures a CUF greater than 15% and a performance ratio of more than 75%. Built with an investment of about 12 Crores, the project shall offset approximately 1825 tonnes of Carbon-dioxide emissions in a calendar year. Solar power has become affordable now with the cost of solar panels coming down to about 40 percent less in the last two years. The project shall ensure an IRR of about 18% on the capital invested.
How much is the power requirement of these schools, payback period and what were the challenges?
Each school building typically has a load of about 5 to 10 kW. We have provided them with a system of about 40-50 kW each. Thus as a result, the grid-connected net-metered project not only meets the energy needs of the schools but also is a source of revenue generation for them as the excess power generated is sent back into the grid. Once the payback is reached in the initial 4-5 years, the schools shall have a free power for the next 21 years. Since the power requirement of the schools was just about 5-10 kW therefore the existing service line has to be augmented to support 40-50 kW solar plants with installation of appropriate infrastructure which took considerable time. We appreciate the support from SDMC and discom in establishing the same.
What are the future plans of your company?
We are in the process of signing MoU with several schools and universities to install rooftop solar PV projects. Benara Solar is contemplating technology-tie-ups in the field of solar module manufacturing with leading manufacturers globally and shall be investing up to INR 200 Crores in next three years towards manufacturing of solar modules. At the same we shall also be executing PV projects worth INR 600 Crores in the next 12 months. We are also in touch with several schools and universities to set up rooftop solar projects. We aim to be one of the leading solar players in India in decentralised systems in next three years.
Why do you think it’s important for schools to have Rooftop Solar?
For many students in the modern era, especially in liberal urban environments, the prospect of going to a school or university that is seen as being sustainable and eco-conscious can be a distinguishing factor. Thousands of students seek out schools that will be the best environment to study sustainable practices and green policy, which makes solar-powered universities a very attractive option. Moreover the installed solar projects over their school roof serve as a subject of research and education for them. They can use system performance data to calculate how much electricity is being produced and how much their school is saving. The school’s students can also develop problem solving skills by calculating the effect of generation in morning, afternoon and in evening and also the effect of module tilt on generation of solar energy.
