05-08-2025
Experts highlight cost-effectiveness of using sustainable materials and solar power's game-changing potential
Solar power is going to be a big game changer in the future, C. Velan, Chief Executive Officer of Ceebros Group, said during The Hindu Tamil Nadu Real Estate Summit 2025 held in Chennai on Tuesday.
During a panel discussion titled 'Green is Gold: Sustainable Construction and Energy Efficient Buildings', Mr. Velan said new technologies had been coming up in the solar space.
In response to a query on the perception that energy-efficient buildings have higher upfront costs, Mr. Velan said the additional expense was relatively negligible and that opting for green buildings would always be advantageous. He highlighted the district cooling system and how it could be implemented.
Sumitra Vasudevan, associate partner of APRObuild, said materials, which were considered unaffordable 10 years ago, had become much more accessible today.
'Most of the components we now use in sustainable buildings do not add significant incremental cost,' she asserted.
Ms. Vasudevan added, 'One of the things in residential developments is that if you mention sustainable or eco-friendly, they think it's traditional or an old kind of building. They do not think of it as something modern.'
Ajit Kumar Chordia, Managing Director, Olympia Group, India, said: 'A sustainable building is a building that is being built with a lot of common sense and looking at the ancient wisdom and knowledge. If someone copies something without applying their mind to it, whatever that thing is will not last long.'
Need for new initiatives
Mr. Chordia added how Tamil Nadu was a pioneer in rainwater harvesting.
'If you really look at Tamil Nadu, we were one of the first States to introduce rainwater harvesting as a concept, and even made it mandatory for buildings. But after that, we have not taken any great measures. I appreciate the policy of the Government of Telangana. They have come up with the White Roof Policy. As part of this, roofs are coated with reflective paint and terraces have gardens to reduce heat absorption by the buildings. Tamil Nadu needs to think of something new similar to that,' he said.
Integration costs
Nataraj S., senior assistant vice-president, Swelect, spoke about the costs involved in solar integration and the pace of solar adoption. 'The pace of solar adoption depends on the ecosystem where we are located,' he said.
Mr. Nataraj added: 'For example, Gujarat has installed solar power capacity of close to 1.5 GW as compared to 127 MW in Tamil Nadu. The fundamental reason is the design component of the building. While we have apartment-type buildings, Gujarat has house ownership model, where homeowners directly approach the government for solar installations.'
Geetha Srimathi S., Senior Reporter, The Hindu, moderated the session.
The event is presented by Casagrand and co-presented by G Square. The green energy partner for the event is Swelect and the sports ecosystem partners are SDAT and Tamil Nadu Champions Foundation. The event is supported by CREDAI Tamil Nadu, Lancor, Namma Family Group. The strategic partner is MMA (Madras Management Association). The TV partner is Puthiya Thalaimurai and the digital partner is The Federal.
