Maharashtra has one of the highest electricity tariffs in India for residential consumers. It is a well known fact that an urban city consumers, along with the industries and commercial establishments, contribute to the state government subsidize the electricity for farmers. With little respite from the populist measures of subsidizing electricity costs for the rural consumers, high transmission and distribution losses and an ever increasing cost of electricity from sources like coal and gas, we will continue to have our electricity tariffs going up by 4~5% every year for several years to come. This means that the approximate Rs 7/unit tariff will go up to more than Rs 30/unit in the next 25 years. That definitely does not bode very well. The only way to tackle this problem of rising  electricity tariffs is by producing your own power. The only viable solution to do that is by going solar and that too in a highly economical and reliable manner. This is where your vacant rooftop comes to your rescue. If you have an unused rooftop, today, every homeowner can save lacs of rupees by installing a rooftop solar power system. And in the process, also make a huge contribution to the environment and to their children’s future. Would it not be awesome to take a decision today and make a difference for the full 25 years? Look at the illustration below, derived from the MYSUN Solar Calculator. Mr Pant lives in Wakad in Pune and pays Rs 8000 per month electricity bill. By installing a solar system of 6kW, his monthly electricity bill reduces by approx 98% to Rs 165 per month, which is the fixed meter cost. And with a solar system life of 25 years, he ends up saving Rs 26.7 Lakh overall with 35.7% Return on Investment. As you can see from the illustration above that there is a lot of merit in going solar. Pune is a city that receives an abundance of sunlight and the Solar Policy of Maharashtra is one that encourages all residents to make the move to the sunny side. Therefore, there is definitely no better time to Go Solar than now. In the case above, Net Metering has been switched on since the state allows it. In case you are wondering what is Net Metering, it is a process where all the extra units that you generate from your solar system that go unused, are sent back to the main grid and adjusted monthly against your consumption from the grid. Going solar will not just be a great financial investment because the biggest benefit of all is that you will be making a difference and a positive environmental impact by moving to greener and cleaner source of energy. So, if you are living in Pune or areas close by, going solar for your home, Industries or even a Commercial establishment makes a lot of financial sense. You can get in touch with us at ‭+91 98731 67009‬ to get a free consultation with our Solar Advisors, who will explain you the case of going solar in greater details. For anything more, you can also e-mail us at: [email protected]

This article is in continuation to our series with the aforementioned name where we bring to you a roundup on how the world is using the solar power in the most creative ways. Right from planes to boats to robots, solar has found application in a lot of consumer facing objects. But did you know that the road right outside your home or the National Highway could also be solarized? No right? That is precisely what China has been able to achieve on a 1 km long road that is built in Jinan, the capital city of Shandong province.

You might be wondering that how is it possible that the solar panel roads are able to take the immense weight of the incoming traffic and still remain serviceable. This is possible because the surface of the road is made out of transparent concrete which in theory can withstand at least 10 times more pressure than the usual regular concrete. Below this transparent layer of concrete, you have the usual solar panels which convert light into electricity. An insulating layer is present just below the panels to keep them from getting excessively hot or cold ensuring a steady generation during the hours when the sun shines.

The two lane road covers an area of about 5875 square meters and cost close to $458 per square meter to be built. That in comparison is about 90 times more expensive than the normal road. However, the solar powered roads are not like your usual roads and will help generate power of about 1 million kWh that will be used to run billboards, surveillance cameras, tolls, street lights etc. The excessive power will be fed back into the grids.

MYSUN's take on the solar roads: While the solar road in China sounds very impressive, this is not the only solar road that exists out there. The solar bike path in the Netherlands is quite famous too even though it has a different construction method as compared to the road in China. However, the question on the long term feasibility remains and can be answered only after a few years of these roads existing. How will the O&M work for the roads, how do you replace a faulty panel or for that matter what happens when the concrete starts getting scratched or the efficiency of the generation itself when the panels are virtually completely flat and at no angle. However, this is an interesting application of solar energy and if a couple of these pilot programs such as a solar highway or a solar pavement can prove to be successful, solar on roads can definitely become a more widespread application of solar.