SoBo office complex installs largest solar power setup in city

MUMBAI :A large office complex in Mumbai has shown how the city can put to good use its vast rooftops, and in the process save money and reduce the hazardous impact

MUMBAI :A large office complex in Mumbai has shown how the city can put to good use its vast rooftops, and in the process save money and reduce the hazardous impact of power generation on the environment.

HT Image

The Arcade building, with 120 offices at MVIRDC World Trade Centre (WTC) at Cuffe Parade, Colaba, is the first large commercial establishment in the city that is powered through solar energy. The 808 solar panels, spread across 25,000 square foot roof, generate 250 kilowatt peak power (KWp) system that has reduced their annual electricity bill by 30%. The power generation system is connected to the grid, which means that electricity produced on a holiday is fed into the public system.

“Solar power is attractive because it is abundant and offers a solution to fossil fuel emissions and global climate change,” said Kamal M Morarka, chairman, WTC Mumbai, a non-profit organisation that helps in facilitating trade. “With the demand for energy rising exponentially, the entire state is undergoing a transformation in how it generates electricity.” The complex is named after Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, a champion of the manufacturing industry.

The panels generate 900 kilowatt hour (KWh) solar energy daily, which caters to all electrical needs of the building, including the air conditioning system. An average household in Mumbai uses 10-15KWh power per day.

“The panels will generate a total of 3 lakh KWh solar energy annually. After incurring the initial cost of Rs 1.75 crore, we will be saving Rs 45 lakh every year after four years through this mode of energy consumption,” said Dinesh Sharma, director engineering, WTC.

The commercial complex has also installed a system that allows excess electricity generated by the solar panels to be sent back to the grid. Designed and built by a private company, Maxwell Solar and Wind Energy Pvt Ltd, each aluminium panel generates 310W and uses poly crystalline technology. “On a sunny day, the panels will provide full capacity amounting to 900 KWh per day. During monsoon , the capacity decreases to 500 KWh per day. With net metering system, if the complex generates 27,000 units of power per month and the requirement was 25,000, the excess would be carried over to the next month and so on,” said an official from the company.

“It is the need of the hour to solar. More rooftop solar projects will have a significant impact in reducing fossil fuel emissions,” said Rakesh Kumar, director, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute .