GOING GREEN & SAVING MONEY: WHY GOANS ARE OPTING FOR SOLAR PANELS – A CASE STUDY

2

When Vincent Condillac greeted little Erica, 4 and 1/2 years old and on an educational trip to Vincent’s beloved organic farm, little did he know that the chance encounter would lead him to become the proud owner of one of Aldona’s biggest solar rooftop installation.

Erica and her mother saw the ducks, admired free-range chickens, and played with Vincent’s many dogs. As they plucked organic fruits straight from the trees, Erica’s mother happened to mention that Erica’s father, Anant, works in the solar industry; this piqued Vincent’s interest.

You see, just like how Vincent’s organic vegetables provide clean, green nutrition which improves one’s health; solar panels provide clean, green energy which improves the health of our planet. Vincent knew all that, but he was deterred by the high cost of solar rooftop systems, as per feedback from Aldona’s other residents.

Nevertheless, he asked for Anant’s contact number, shared a copy of his electricity bill, and waited for a quotation to come through from Anmax Energy.

It was a pleasant surprise to him, when the quotation for a 10KW plant, 30 panels in all, came to Rs. 2,23,019/- after 50% government subsidy. This was much lower than what he had expected.

After a quick consultation with Lillian, a friend knowledgeable in the pricing of solar rooftop systems, Vincent gave a ‘yes’ to the project. 

Anmax Energy came up with a plan to integrate the panels on Vincent’s traditional Goan house roof, so that they look pleasing to the eye, but are still easy to access for maintenance. In 10 days, the installation was complete, and after some waiting for the electricity department to give the final approval, the plant was connected to the grid.

“People often talk about how the environment is being destroyed by pollution, but people should also put their money where their mouth is, and help stop this wholesale destruction of the environment”, says Vincent.

Here are the key features of Vincent’s solar rooftop plant:

• 30 panels of 335W each. Each panel is made with Indian components, and manufactured in Goa itself by Agrawal Renewable Pvt Ltd.
• 10KW solar inverter with remote logging and monitoring facility.
• Bi-directional net meter which measures power units imported and exported to the grid.

Vincent’s solar rooftop system is eligible for a total of 50% subsidy, a part of which will be credited to his bank account after 6 months with GEDA being the state nodal agency in charge of facilitating this subsidy scheme. 

Sanjeev Joglekar, Member-Secretary of GEDA, says: “Goa imports most of its electricity, which is predominantly generated from coal. Our state has embarked on a journey to achieve a net zero goal. Installing a solar on residential rooftop is an economic challenge, which is why the state offers a 50 percent subsidy considering the low tariffs. Salute to all those who have consciously contributed to the net zero journey by installing Solar Power plants in their premises, and I appeal to all Goans to join them to help achieve our state’s net zero goal”.

The Condillac’s 10KW solar rooftop system will provide the following economic and ecological benefits over 25 years as per data from Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore:

• Rs. 30 Lakhs will be saved in electricity bills via net metering.
• 308 tons of Carbon Dioxide will be mitigated.
• Environmental benefit equivalent to 492 full-grown teak trees.

With this installation, Vincent has made an investment in the future of his planet: a planet which has been a home to his ancestors, a home to him, and will be the only place that Erica and her friends will ever call home!

Editor’s Note: Due to many inquiries in the comments section, we have decided to add Anmax Energy Pvt Ltd contact number here: 9650325674. Please connect with them directly.

2 COMMENTS

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here