Solar energy can give city half of its power: Study

A study carried out to assess the solar rooftop potential of Greater Mumbai has shown that Mumbai has a potential to generate 1,720 megawatt (MW) of solar energy across rooftops including residences, educational institutions, government buildings and industries.

The study, initiated in 2015, was conducted jointly by the National Centre for Photovoltaic Research and Education (NCPRE), the Centre for Urban Science and Engineering (C-USE) at IIT Bombay, the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Bridge to India and IEEE Bombay Section.

"The biggest highlight of this study includes the use of satellite maps as well as other simple yet effective techniques, making it extremely cost effective.

"A team was trained to map the city based on existing land maps procured from the BMC ward wise, which helped calculate the area of roof tops available," said Ameya Pimpalkhare, Associate Fellow at ORF, who is working on the Mumbai Solar Mission project.

According to experts, Mumbai's daily demands for power is around 3,500 MW, and while it was sure that even if every roof in the city had solar panels, in ideal working conditions, it might not be able to produce exactly 1,720 MW.

However, the power generated through solar energy would be enough to reduce the load by around 60 per cent.

Pimpalkhare also said that one of the key highlights of this study was that the BMC and other government organisations have a database of the solar capacity that can be generated on rooftops.

"The study lists out structures with good rooftop potential, and it includes hospitals, commercial buildings, government offices, railway stations and even industries.

Rooftop solar generation is also presented ward wise. It can also be used by companies involved in setting up solar cells to target specific users depending on areas available for setting up solar power systems," he said.