Demand for rooftop solar units cathes up

Visakhapatnam: In a region where summer months dominate the entire year, making use of renewable energy has become a wise choice for many. As a part of it, solar panels dot the terrace of every other household, especially in urban areas. Earlier, these panels were considered as space-occupying units. Eventually, with growing awareness among people on environment conservation systems and the subsidies doled out by the government, the installation of solar rooftop units is scaling up with each passing day.

This has considerably added to sustainable measures to reduce the electricity bills as well. Also, it aids in countering the hazardous effects of ever-increasing pollution levels.

In an industry hub like Visakhapatnam, a number of organisations have adopted the alternative renewable energy both to slice the cost and bring down pollution levels. The list of industries that consumes solar power includes Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam Port Trust, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, NTPC-Simhadri, East Coast Railway and Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation. This apart, other organisations and corporate offices adopt solar systems generated electricity.

In the recent past, the use of rooftop solar units has gone up in households.

Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Rajamahendravaram and Eluru fall under Andhra Pradesh Eastern Power Distribution Company Limited (APEPDCL) jurisdiction and the demand for rooftop solar units is high in these places.

"In future, the demand is only going to rise further. People can avail 40 per cent subsidy to install 3KW solar units," explains V Vijaya Lalitha, general manager of Energy Conservation of APEPDCL.

Already, fresh applications for 3,625 rooftop solar units have been received by the APEPDCL. Of them, 2,171 applications are from Visakhapatnam alone. Once they get installed, these units would generate 85,800-kilowatt power.