Lessons The Rest Of India Can Learn From Modhera, India's First Solar-Powered Village
In October, Modhera in Gujarat became India's first village to become energy self-reliant, only using solar power.
The village in Mehsana district has a long-running relationship where it is also worshiped as God.
Modhera is also home to the Sun temple situated on the bank of the Pushpavati river, which was built after 1026-27 CE during the reign of Bhima I of the Chalukya dynasty.
Modhera, India's first solar village??
Now the deity of the village is blessing the residents there with a better life, in ways they could not have imagined until recently.
The village has over 1,300 rooftop solar panels on residential and government buildings that are connected to a power plant.
How the solar power is harvested
The residents of Modhera get free electricity to run their homes and made additional income by selling the excess power generated from the solar panels to the state grid.
In addition to the rooftop solar panels, there is also a Battery Energy Storage System in the nearby Sajjanpura village.
¡°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.
More energy than Modhera can consume
The solar-electrification project in Modhera was a joint effort by the central and state governments at a cost of Rs 80.66 crore.
¡°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,¡± Rajendra Mistry, the chief project officer of Gujarat Power Corporation Limited, said.
Modhera has 1,600-1,700 electrified houses, and nearly 1,400 solar power connections. With the rooftop solar panels at residential and government buildings alone produce over one kilowatt (kW) of electricity, which is much more than what they consume.
Modhera uses only 1Mw, with the rest being added to the grid.
Reduced power bills and additional income
The immediate impact of the solar revolution was felt by the residents of Modhera in the form of reduced power bills. It is estimated that the power bills of most villagers have been reduced by 50% or more.
¡°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,¡± Gadvi Kailashben, a resident of Modhera told UN News.
¡°The extra money is now saved in my account. I use that money for daily house expenses, and for the education of my children,¡± she added.
Kesa Bhai Prajapati, a traditional earthenware maker in the village has also seen his productivity and income going up thanks to solar power.
For a long time, the 68-year-old used to turn the wheel manually as he could not then afford high electricity bills which would be around Rs 1,500.
Now, however, his machine moves on solar power.
"Electricity has helped us to save time and produces more products," Prajapati told Reuters.
"I had to teach the kids under the street lamp. Now they will be able to study inside the house," Praveen Bhai, a tailor in the village said.
"When we got access to solar power, I bought an electric motor worth 2,000 rupees to attach to the sewing machine. Now I am able to sew one or two more clothes daily," Reena Ben, a housewife, who also works as a tailor part-time said.
Model for the country
Rightfully the government wants Modhera to become a model for the rest of India.
¡°I would encourage the other villages also to put solar as it is beneficial in all aspects, from saving money to saving electricity,¡± Ashaben Mahendrabhai, a resident of Modhera agrees.
Apart from powering households, the solar energy generated in Modhera is also used to run a 3D light show at the Sun Temple and its premises even have solar electric vehicle charging stations.
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