A 42-year-old widow, Modhera resident Gadvi Kailashben supports her family with her meager farm income. The government installed solar energy panels in her house, which has lowered her household expenses.
“When there was no solar energy, I had to pay a lot of money for electricity… With the advent of solar energy, my bill is zero. Now all the appliances in my house are solar powered, I don’t pay a single rupee and use the money for household expenses and my children’s education,” said Kailashben.
Renewable energies as a source of income
Converting to a clean and renewable energy source not only allows more household appliances to be used to make life more comfortable without worrying about the electricity bill, but it is also becoming a source of income for the residents of Modhera.
Ashaben Mahendrabhai, 38, lives with her husband and two children. “We work on our farm and we used to pay a huge electricity bill for farming. Since the solar installation in our village, we are now saving a lot of electricity. Previously, our electricity bill used to be around 2,000 rupees. Now it’s negative,” he said.
With that balance in his favor, Ashaben saves and earns by selling excess electricity to the grid.
“When the creators of the project approached us with the idea of solar energy, we did not understand the concept, so we refused to install it. We were not literate to understand what solar energy was and we had little knowledge about it. But little by little, the team made us understand the concept and advantages of solar energy, how we would save electricity and money, and we became interested in the plan”, he recounted.
Local farmers Pingalsinh Karsanbhai Gadhvi and Surajben Gadhvi married couple installed solar roofs on their houses six months ago.
Karsanbhai says the project has freed them from electricity bills and the savings will keep them in good shape for old age.
“Before we used to get an electricity bill of 3,000 rupees and after solar power, now it is zero. We are saving that 3,000 rupees every month,” she said.
“These solar panels have benefited the entire town. All institutions like schools, public institutions, all have benefited from solar energy. Now we don’t need extra power. The whole house is solar powered,” she said.
His wife Surajben is all smiles and recommends him to other towns.
“If this solar energy were installed throughout the country, it would be really advantageous. It feels like the Sun God is providing us with energy through his light. This benefit that Modhera has, must reach everyone”, he emphasized.
Interacting with residents of Modhera during his visit, António Guterres praised the efforts of the Government and residents.
“Here, where the Temple of the Sun was built a thousand years ago, there is a new Temple of the Sun. It is based on solar energy and it is transforming the lives of the people of this town, making them healthier, bringing them more prosperity and at the same time, helping to rescue our planet from climate change that is still advancing uncontrollably”.
Sun God Inspiration
Modhera is home to the iconic Temple of the Sun.
With the vision of powering the Sun Temple and the entire village through the Sun God, this project is the first of its kind and seeks to make rural residents self-sufficient through green energy.
“The idea behind this project is that since the Modhera temple is the Temple of the Sun God, all the energy in this city and community should come from solar energy,” said Mamta Verma, the government’s Secretary for Energy and Petrochemicals. from Gujarat.
The Temple of the Sun now features a solar-powered 3D light show. Its parking lot also has charging stations for electric vehicles.
renewable energy storage
With an array of solar panels on the roofs of houses, government schools, bus shelters, utility buildings, parking lots, and even the Sun Temple facility, Modhera benefits from the six megawatt power plant installed in Sujjanpura. a nearby town.
With the town’s consumption of just one or two megawatts, the surplus is added to the transmission network.
“There are three main components to this whole project. One is our six-megawatt ground-mounted project. The second is the 15-megawatt battery storage system and the third is the one-kilowatt roofs installed in 1,300 houses,” explained the project manager of Gujarat Power Corporation Limited.
“Of the thousand roofs that we have provided in the town, the electricity that is produced first is consumed by the residents, and the excess is delivered to the grid,” he explained.
Funded by the governments of India and Gujarat, the estimated cost of the project is $9.7 million. Modhera is the first net generating town of renewable energy.
vision for the future
This project is expected to provide learning to resolve bottlenecks related to renewable energy. If the initiative proves to be economically viable, the plan is to replicate it in other rural areas of Gujarat.
“This type of project acts as a pilot project for other towns and cities in India. And similarly, the other towns and cities can adopt this model to become self-sufficient in energy needs.”
Ashaben Mahendrabhai, a resident of Modhera, summed up the benefits: “I would encourage the other villages to also put solar power in, as it is beneficial in all aspects, from saving money to saving electricity,” he said.
