Indian Solar Association to promote rooftop solar energy installations in houses
Efforts will be taken to install rooftop solar energy panels in two lakh houses in Tamil Nadu, said the Indian Solar Association Director C. Narasimhan.
Mr. Narasimhan told The Hindu that there are just about 20,000 registrations from Tamil Nadu for the Prime Minister's Surya Ghar Yojana scheme. 'We have appealed to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to provide net metering facility for these connections soon.'
The association will organise awareness campaigns and a conference inviting all the solar energy panel providers and banks. A modern house typically requires about 3 kW of rooftop solar panels, and the government subsidy for this will be ₹78,000. The remaining cost can be financed through a bank loan. If around two lakh houses adopt solar energy, there will be a significant reduction in energy consumption from the grid. Additionally, commercial establishments can also install rooftop solar systems, saving ₹4 to ₹4.5 per unit of power. The association will also promote the Kusum scheme among farmers, encouraging the use of solar energy for water pumping.
Mr. Narasimhan said Tamil Nadu will soon allocate lands for setting up storage facilities for renewable energy at six locations in the State. The Central government gives subsidy for setting up the storage facilities. These storage centres will enable the State to avoid power disruptions during peak hours, he said.
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