Delhi turning Solar

Sun, May 18 12:45 AM

This summer the Government of NCT in Delhi recommends heating up for a good cause. Besides making the use of solar water heaters mandatory for certain categories of buildings, they have come up with various incentives for users.

Households investing in solar water heaters will be given rebates of Rs 6000 per system. Besides that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is providing an interest subsidy to ensure that loans (at 2 %) are available to domestic users from various banks and financial institutions.

With the government trying hard to make the most of the torrid summer sun, we catch up with some of the city's folk who are already raking in its benefits. Positive heat Puppeteer Ranjana Pandey has had a solar powered water heater in her house for the last 10 years.

"It does require a lot of maintenance and when you need it most, in January, it might not work, but today there are so many more options and varieties of solar products in the market and that may not be entirely fool proof, but even so, this is something we need to do for our own environment," she said. Anisha, who recently moved to Delhi from Hyderabad informed us that Solar heating is very common there.

The Hyderabad government too offers subsidised rates for those looking to invest in solar products." Growing demand The All India Women's Congress also has a solar cell that used to conduct workshops regarding the use of solar dryers and cookers.

The dryers are used by them, even today, for making aam papads and drying kadipatta. "We used to do a lot of work with solar energy until 2001-2003, but not anymore as support from the ministry is not forthcoming," said a spokesperson.

A spokesperson at Gurgaon's Aditya Solar Shop, a national scheme of the Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources, said they get close to a 100 enquiries per day, in person and on the phone. The city has over 40 shops dealing with solar products.

One such shop cum factory is Bright Solar Energy in Karol Bagh. According to owner, Thomas Kurian, "His clients have been mainly industrial, though domestic queries and even hospitals have come to him.

" Kurian said that an average household would need a 200 litre water heater. A heater that size comes in two varieties, one that lasts about 25-20 years and costs between Rs 45,000 to Rs 50,000.

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