Many a times, the industrial sector has been blamed for overall power crisis scenario in the country and in Haryana, most of the power generated is consumed by its industrial sector. The state has tried enforcing the sector to opt for alternative power sources like solar, but so far, the government has failed to win the industrialists over to the green cause, according to a TOI report.
According to industrialists in Gurgaon, shifting to solar power has not really got the expected response as it proves out that using solar is rather uneconomical. Solar power works on solar cells, which are expensive – a 1KW plant, with batteries, costs as much as Rs 200,000 and add to it the extra maintenance cost..
“I don’t think the green enterprise has attained any success here in Udyog Vihar. The whole process of installing a small solar plant and maintaining it is too time consuming and expensive,” H R Vaish, president of the Udyog Vihar Chamber of Industries has reportedly said.
“Solar panels for industry don’t make sense. The best of panel give you only 20 per cent efficiency. And this makes them over-priced both in the short and the long run,” the report added.
The government needs to show more interest in promoting usage of solar products to industry owners. At the moment, the state subsidy on solar water heaters and small-scale power plants amounts to about 30 per cent of their price-tag for industry owners.
The government agencies on the other hand are given as much as 70 per cent discount on the same equipment. “There are no plans to increase the subsidy for industrial users on solar power equipment for the time being,” said an official of the state department for renewable energy, HAREDA.
