The Raheja Mindspace IT Park is the largest of its kind in Hyderabad, spread over 110 acres, and is the home of many major IT companies. This state-of-the-art campus has 14 buildings that are currently occupied by companies such as Facebook, IBM, Accenture, Bank of America, and other IT giants. The SEZ wants to stay true to its green ideals and has commissioned a 112 kW grid-connected system for captive consumption at one of its buildings.
The system has been designed and implemented by U-Solar Clean Energy Solutions using the Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) model. To avoid the steep initial cost of installing the rooftop solar power plant, the SEZ has signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) of 15 years with a third-party Energy Company. This model reduces the capital expenditure for the client and also offers the opportunity for the client to acquire the requisite infrastructure needed for solar to be added to their energy mix. As per the BOOT/PPA model:
· There is no high upfront capital expenditure
· Maintenance and operation of the system is the responsibility of the EPC
· The unit price of solar is below the grid price
· The ownership of the power plant is transferred to the client after the duration of the PPA agreement
The 112 kW system consists of 448 modules supplied by Shan Solar of 250 Wp capacity and 9 units of 11 kVA SMA inverters that have been installed at the site. The system was commissioned in December- 2014 and generates ~500-550 units/day. The SEZ pays a monthly bill to the energy company for metered solar power.
The BOOT/PPA Model is a highly compelling win-win proposition, which is rapidly growing in popularity for the adoption of solar energy by large enterprises where the initial investment is otherwise very high. We have previously facilitated similar projects with other clients and are proud to be involved with helping another SEZ in our country on its
path to going green.