BSES Launches Solarise Safdurjung & Solarise Karkardooma Projects To Boost Adoption of RoofTop Solar In Delhi

BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) are
committed to aggressively promote roof-top solar in South, West, East and Central Delhi. As a result, there are over 2800 roof-top solar installations in BSES areas with a installed load of above 90 MWp. Taking this commitment further, BSES discoms have expanded the BSES Solar City Programs by launching ‘Solarise Safdurjung” and ‘Solarise Karkardooma’.

The ambitious discom led and community-based demand aggregation programs were
launched in virtual ceremonies in presence of the RWAs from the two areas. This initiative, a pilot, is pursuant to a Statement of Intent (SoI) signed by the US Department of State and India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) under the US-India Clean Energy Finance Task Force on November 15, 2018.

This initiative has been rolled-out in partnership with SmartPower, a US based non profit
organisation focused on local community campaigns to increase consumer adoption of clean energy, WeeGreen and Council on Energy Environment and Water (CEEW), a leading not-forprofit policy research organisation.

Led by BRPL and BYPL, the ‘Solarise’ initiative aims to maximize the utilisation of solar roof top potential in a targeted area. The program’s objective is to create a market based approach for scaling-up roof-top solar and introduce community-led demand aggregation for deployment.
In the first phase, the campaign will aggressively promote the adoption of roof-top solar in Safdurjung and Karkardooma areas as part of ‘Solarise Safdurjung’ and ‘Solarise Karkardooma’.
Subsequently, depending on the results, the program will also be launched for other BSES areas.

The intensive 8-10 week campaign aims to accelerate the adoption of roof-top solar by raising awareness through community participation and dialogue. Adapting to the ‘new normal’ in the wake of Covid-19, the entire ‘Solarise Safdurjung’ and ‘Solarise Karkardooma’ programs are completely virtual, using innovative online tools, including the ‘WeeGreen’, a global platform that brings together the residents and vendors at one place.

This essentially means that right from reaching-out to the consumers, resolving their queries, organising their consultations with solar installers and financiers, interactive testimonials from the owners of existing solar roof-top connections, the entire process will be conducted online.

The basic idea of the program is to raise awareness and adoption of roof-top solar through community dialogue and interactions.

To encourage adoption of roof-top solar and to drive community engagement, the campaign is adopting innovative concepts like ‘Solar Ambassadors’ and ‘Solar Champions’. Youth is being specifically targeted and reach-out to in the online campaign as ‘influencers’. Though the program is primarily targeted at the domestic consumer and residential societies, commercial and institutional consumers can also participate in the initiative.

Win-win proposition

Consumers

Roof-top solar is helping consumers, not only to reduce their electricity bills, but also do-their bit for the environment. Under ‘Solarise Safdurjung’ and ‘Solarise Karkardooma’ programs, consumers are being offered premium, customised and non subsidised (non Central Financial Assistance)solar solutions, including imported components, easy financing options, extended warranty and additional AMC etc under the Capex model. These Initiatives are in addition to the existing roof-top solar programs being offered by BSES, wherein consumers can opt for solar under both the Capex and the RESCO models and avail the applicable government subsidies. Consumers desirous to avail these can log-on to http://www.bsesdelhi.com and http://www.solarbases.com.
In both the models, consumer’s excess solar power is purchased by the discom at the rates specified by the DERC.
Commenting on the initiative, a BSES spokesperson said, “This community driven initiative is the latest testimonial of our efforts to aggressively promote roof-top solar. We aim to accelerate roof-top solar development by aggregating consumers and bringing in the necessary participation from developers and financiers.”
“The program will educate consumers about the benefits of solar energy while ensuring strict quality compliance of the systems being installed. It will also facilitate various finance options available to the consumers. BSES has been at the forefront of promoting the concept of roof top solar and its beneficial impact on electricity bills. The latest initiative promises to be a game-changer in a bid to accelerate adoption of roof top solar in Delhi. ”- added the
spokesperson.