Green Buildings ? Put
Greed to Work !
--------------------
Two days back , Maharashtra Government
came out with a policy under which all new buildings will need to comply with “
Energy Conservation Building Code “
Under this code ,
·
All upcoming buildings will have
to be fitted with LED bulbs only
·
Existing buildings will be encouraged to replace old bulbs / tube lights ( including
all government buildings )
·
Street lights will be fitted with sunlight sensor
switches and LED bulbs
·
Agricultural pumps will be powered by Solar Energy
·
Village Drinking Water Schemes will also get powered by Solar Energy
·
Anganwadi and jails will have to use energy-efficient
gadgets
Congratulations to Shri Chandrashekhar Bawankule (
State Energy Minister ) , who said :
·
Govt will spend Rs 840 cr to implement this policy
·
Changes will save the government, around 1,000 MW of energy and Rs 6,000 cr in 5 years
·
Those who don’t abide by the rules will face
punishment
·
The government will come up with incentive
schemes to encourage old buildings to switch to LED lights
·
If the new norms are flouted, then the final occupation certificate can
be withheld
·
Green buildings will be offered incentives
in taxes or in the form of FSI
The news reports failed to make any
mention of the government offering any “ incentives “ to buildings ( old or to
new ), for installing of Solar Panels on
roof tops !
While no one will quarrel with sundry incentives for “
saving power “ ( coal-based DIRTY
power , at that ! ) , it is indeed surprising that there is no incentive for “ generating power “ of the “ clean (
solar ) “ variety , on each and every roof top !
In the long run , it is only the roof top solar power that can save the World !
This ( apparent ? ) lack of enthusiasm
for roof top solar , is all the more
surprising considering that IIT-Madras
has invented a small roof top plant ( along with a storage system ) , costing
just Rs 20,000 , which can run a couple
of tube-lights, fans, charging points and a TV !
A higher model can run all essential
load ( minus washing machine and air conditioners ) of a middle class family
Economic Times ( 26 May ) writes :
“ This rooftop
plant has been installed under CSR and government sponsorship in 15,000 rural homes and was successful in
facing a three day power cut during Chennai floods in Dec 2015 “
An official in the Solar Energy Corporation of India (
SECI ) said :
To install a roof top of the present technology , a middle class family will
require 1 KWH solar roof top and storage , costing about Rs 1.2 lakh and a space of 100 sq ft
What is holding back the government to
incentivize millions of homes / buildings , to come forward and install the IIT-M innovation ?
I believe the answer lies in the
Government displaying the same kind of “ Out of Box “
and innovative thinking which Shri Suresh Prabhu ( Railway Minister ) ,
recently displayed, while announcing train travel under : TRAVEL NOW /
PAY LATER : scheme , under which you do NOT
need to pay the train fare up-front but pay it later ( after enjoying your
train journey ) !
A service charge of 3.5 % will be levied on such tickets and the
customer will have to pay the ticket amount within 14 days of the purchase of the ticket.
To avail this service, it is mandatory
for the passengers to provide their names, email ID , mobile number , PAN card
or Aadhar details
I urge Maharashtra government to adopt this innovative financing model for roof top solar
plants where :
·
Individual building owners or Societies will install the plants on their
roofs ( model / size / supplier etc to be decided by each consumer )
·
Plants will need to be installed only by Channel Partners ( supplying agencies ) which are empanelled by the Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy , who have submitted installation data ( Project Completion
Report for grid connected rooftop projects ) on the SPIN portal
·
Submit
“ Bill / Certificate of Grid Connectivity “ to
govt for “Green Solar Loan “
·
Loan will be repayable at 5 %
interest rate , over a 15 year period
·
SOCIETY WILL BE ABLE TO PAY THE EMI
FROM THE SAVINGS IT WILL MAKE BY NOT HAVING TO BUY THE GRID POWER FROM
STATE DISCOM
·
Societies will even be allowed to repay the EMI in the form of the solar power it generates and FEEDS into the State Grid , under the “ Reverse Metering “ Scheme
Dear Shri Piyush
Goyalji :
Let us demonstrate to the World that , despite USA
pulling out of the Paris Accord , our commitment to “ GOING GREEN “
remains the same !
06 June 2017
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