“Out of the 1,000 rooftops we have provided in the village, the electricity that comes out is first consumed by the people of the village, and the excess electricity is then given to the grid.”Solar panels on the rooftops of houses in Modhera, located in Gujarat state, India. With the electricity bill in minus, Ashaben is not only saving the money that she used to spend on electricity, but the excess electricity generated is sold back to the grid and she gets money in return. Modhera resident Ashaben Mahendrabhai summed up the benefits.
Renewable energy as an income source
Gadvi Kailashben, a 42-year-old widow, lives in Modhera, home to the centuries-old Sun Temple and now the first village in India that runs on solar energy. This demonstration project is expected to provide learning to resolve bottlenecks related to renewable energy. If the project proves to be economically viable, the plan is to replicate it in other rural areas in Gujarat. Government schools, bus stops and utility buildings in the village of Modhera in Gujarat, India, now run entirely on solar power. He exclaimed that “this saving is like a pension for our old age. We are really happy about it.”
She earns a meagre income from agriculture which she uses to take care of her family. The Government has installed solar panels on her house which has given her much-needed relief from household expenses. The Modhera Sun Temple in Gujarat, India, now runs a 3D light show entirely on solar power. POWERED BY THE SUN “Earlier we used to get electricity bill of 3,000 rupees and after solar it is zero now. Now we are saving those 3,000 rupees every month,” he said.
Home to the iconic Sun Temple of Gujarat, Modhera village is approximately 97 km from the city of Ahmedabad in the Mehsana district of Gujarat.Ashaben Mahendrabhai, 38, lives with her husband and two children. “We work in our farm and used to pay huge electricity bill for agriculture. Since solar installation in our village, we are now saving a lot of electricity. Earlier our electricity bill used to come around 2,000 rupees. Now it is in minus,” she said. With the vision of powering the Sun Temple and the entire village through Sun God (solar energy), this project is the first of its kind, where rural residents are envisaged to be self-reliant through green energy. With the village consumption merely one to two megawatts, the excess is added to the transmission grid. “There are three major components to this entire project. One is our ground mounted 6-megawatt project. The second is the 15-megawatt battery storage system and the third is the one-kilowatt rooftops installed on 1,300 houses,” the Chief Project Officer of Gujarat Power Corporation Limited (GPCL), Rajendra Mistry, explained.
Inspiration from the Sun God
Pingalsinh Karsanbhai feels that this project has not only given them freedom from electricity bills, but the savings will hold them in good stead in old age.“These solar panels have benefited the entire village. All the institutions like schools, public institutions, all have benefited from the solar in the village. In my individual capacity I am saving 3,000 rupees. Now we don’t require extra energy. The entire house runs on solar.”Local farmers Pingalsinh Karsanbhai Gadhvi and Surajben Gadhvi, who are married, got solar rooftops installed on their house six months ago. “Earlier, when solar was not there, I had to pay huge amount for the electricity bill – close to 2,000 rupees. However, with the installation of the solar, my electricity bill is now zero. Everything from the refrigerator to washing machine now runs on solar in my house. I am not paying even 1 rupee electricity bill now,” said Ms. Kailashben.
Renewable energy storage
Residents of India’s first solar village interacting with the UN Secretary-General during his visit. Pingalsinh Karsanbhai (right) feels that the project not only provides freedom from electricity bills, but “this saving is like a pension for our old age.”
“This is the first village in India where even during the night, the energy consumed by the villagers comes from the solar component. That’s the speciality of this project,” said Vikalp Bhardwaj, Managing Director of Gujarat Power Corporation Limited. “The idea behind this project is that since the Modhera temple is the Temple of the Sun God, so the entire energy of this town and community should come from solar energy,” said Mamta Verma, Principal Secretary, Energy and Petrochemicals in the Government of Gujarat.“I would encourage the other villages also to put solar as it is beneficial in all aspects, from saving money to saving electricity,” she said.
With the electricity bill in minus, Ashaben is not only saving the money that she used to spend on electricity, but the excess electricity generated is sold back to the grid and she gets money in return.
Vision for the future
Interacting with the villagers of Modhera during his visit, UN Secretary-General António Guterres hailed the efforts of the Government and the residents. Conversion to a clean, renewable energy source is not only enabling the villagers to run more electrical household gadgets to make life comfortable, without worrying about the electricity bill. It is also becoming a source of income for them.“If this solar is installed across the country it would be really advantageous. It feels like the Sun God is providing us energy through its light. This benefit that our Modhera village has got, should reach the entire country,” she said. “When the first time the project team came to us with the idea of solar, we didn’t understand the concept, so we refused to get it installed. We were not literate to understand what solar energy was and had little knowledge about it. But slowly, the team made us understand the concept and the advantages of solar, how we will save electricity and money, then we got interested in it,” she said.
- More than 1,300 households have 1 KW Rooftop Solar Systems on Residential buildings.
- 316 KW Rooftop Solar PV Systems on various government buildings at Modhera, Samlanpura and Sujjanpura villages.
- 6 MW Grid Connected Ground Mounted Solar PV Power Plant at Sujjanpura
- 15 MWh, 6 MW, Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at Sujjanpura.
- Modhera uses only 1Mw, with rest being added to the grid.
- Installation of Smart Energy Meters (more than 1700) at electric consumer level.
- Fully solar-powered Sun Temple runs a 3D projection Light Show entirely on renewable energy.
- Sensor based smart street lights near the Sun Temple.
- 50 KW Solar Parking Infrastructure with 150 kWh Battery Storage with Electric Charging Stations at the Modhera Sun Temple.