EESL & Govt of Maharashtra explore installing solar rooftops in 5,000 energy efficient public buildings

• Buildings that install solar rooftops likely to be charged levelized electricity tariffs significantly lower than that of the grid for 25-year term
• EESL’s BEEP programme has made public buildings in Maharashtra achieve 39 percent energy savings

Mumbai: Energy Efficiency Services Limited today organized a stakeholders’ workshop along with KfW where senior functionaries of key departments of Government of Maharashtra were addressed about deployment of grid-connected solar rooftop solutions in up to 5,000 buildings across the state within the next 2-3 years.

EESL is already retrofitting Government buildings in Maharashtra with energy efficient appliances, investing INR 325 crores to enable them to achieve 39 percent savings in annual energy costs. The solar rooftop solutions will significantly reduce the lifetime energy costs of these buildings, as they will avail electricity at lower tariffs that will be determined at levelized rates over the next 25 years.

Shri Chandrakant Dada Patil, Minister of Revenue, Relief & Rehabilitation and Public Works, Government of Maharashtra inaugurated the workshop, which was graced by dignitaries like Shri Arvind Singh, Principal Secretary, Energy Department, Government of Maharashtra (GoM) and Shri Manoj Saunik, Principal Secretary, Public Works Department, GoM; Shri Rajeev Sharma, Chairman, EESL; Shri Sanjeev Kumar, Managing Director, Shri. Ajit Sagne Secretary (Buildings) Public Works Department, GoM ; and, Shri Saurabh Kumar, Managing Director, EESL.

Addressing the workshop Shri Chandrakant Dada Patil said, “Nearly 32 percent of India’s total electricity consumption is derived from residential and commercial spaces. As India continues to urbanize, we can witness a rise in this figure. The state government has already initiated several commendable measures to effectively manage the energy demand from its buildings. We are glad to be able to explore opportunities that build on these efforts and contribute to the expansion of the significantly green footprint already established in the state.”

Engaging with leaders of Departments of Public Works, Education, Urban Development, Irrigation, Power and Energy and other public sector entities under the Maharashtra Government, representatives from EESL, KfW and Idam Infra shared best practices and case studies in solar rooftop financing and deployment in government establishments and hospitals, while also identifying advantages and benefits for proposed interventions for select buildings across the state.

The workshop was organized as part of Building Energy Efficiency Programme (BEEP) being implemented by EESL in Maharashtra since 2017. EESL has already retrofitted 2,000 buildings with energy efficient appliances in the State. EESL has successfully installed 1.75 Lakh LED Lights, 1.25 Energy Efficient Fans & 3200 Nos. of Super-Efficient ACs. With the help of this Maharashtra State has saved 20.5 Million Units of Electricity worth Rs. 20 Cr per year with most importantly avoiding of 18500 tons of CO2 emission to the atmosphere. EESL will soon have 3000 more buildings retrofitted by the end of the year. Through this intervention, EESL will have replaced about 7,000 energy efficient ACs, 11 lakh LEDs bulbs, 6 lakh energy efficient ceiling fans and 14,000 streetlights in the state, contributing to energy savings of 100 million units per year

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Source: edelman