That energy systems must go non-conventional is quite apparent. But to do it in a manner that would be cost-effective and actually bear returns on investment would be the challenge. ‘Pay as you save’ is a concept that’s found its place in promoting solar energy in the city, and is generating quite a bit of enthusiasm.
Aspiration Energy, a city-based firm, claims its simple payment mechanism Pay As You Save (PAYS) is becoming quite popular. The company has to chip in with a portion of capital amount of the total budget after deducting the subsidy quotient. The company’s CEO Bhoovarahan Thirumalai says the remaining capital amount would be paid as a fixed monthly amount equivalent to price of per Kilo Watt hour (kWh) for a period of five to 10 years. Industries have been keen on taking this up, in order to achieve substantial savings in energy expenditure.
Mr. Thirumalai says this has worked very well in the 630 KW heating plant installed in Wheels India, Padi. Every year, he observed, an amount of Rs. 48. 60 lakh is being saved annually on furnace oil. No wonder he is convinced the system is way ahead of conventional heating technology that uses furnace oil.
Mr. Thirumalai adds that harnessing solar energy for industrial purposes is yet to gain currency mainly due to the fact that it involves huge capital costs and suffers from poor efficiency. This is where the rooftop solar thermal power system, which as is the case in Padi, can be employed for heating operations, comes in handy. The rooftop solar thermal power system is a technology used for high degree heating in several industries including milk, automobile, electroplating and chemical.
Comparing the positive aspects of the solar thermal power system to the PV cells both cost- and efficiency-wise, he points out that the cost works out to only Rs. three per kilo watt and gives 100 per cent heating efficiency, whereas the efficiency level of PV cells is around 12-15 per cent.
