CM to launch apartment federations’ pan-Bengaluru solar power initiative  

BENGALURU: Bangalore Apartments’ Federation (BAF) is launching its city-wide rooftop solar initiative, wherein they are on a mission to get 1,000 apartment complexes in the city to implement rooftop solar plants within the next two years. 

Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy will be launching the initiative on November 3 in an event called ‘BAMBOOS’ (Bengaluru Apartments Making Bengaluru Operationally Outstanding and Sustainable). Srikanth Narasimhan, general secretary, BAF, says, “At the event,  government officials will explain how the process has been simplified. Apartments can either invest their own money from scratch, which is called the capex model, or have a vendor invest, whom they will pay on a monthly basis based on per unit charge.”

BAF has been working with the state government to make the process of getting approvals to set up the solar power plant simpler. They have come out with a layman’s guide on the benefits of using solar power, the paper work required, how much it would cost, financial models to pick from, how much one can save, vendors they have tied up with, and more.  “The charges generally work out to be cheaper than what we pay BESCOM, which charges `7.65 to `8 per unit. With solar panels, it costs `6 to `6.5 per unit,” Narasimhan adds.

For example, producing 1 kilowatt costs `60,000. An apartment producing 50 kilowatt will have to pay `30 lakh to the vendor with the operation expenditure model. In the capital expenditure model, if you invest one lakh, it gives you back `15,000 per annum.

An excerpt from the information stated in the note by BAF, reads, “There are specialised vendors who would be happy to invest in the solar plant on your rooftop and sell you the power produced under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Under this model, the RWA does not have to invest a single rupee, but is guaranteed of a lower cost of power than what is being paid to BESCOM.”