Maharashtra backs solar power 

Original Post:  Shruti Ganapatye | 

• Mumbai

 

Representational image

The Maharashtra government is bringing a policy giving concessions to housing societies and new housing projects for installing solar energy panels. The incentives will include relaxing some taxes and giving more FSI for new buildings. The move has been made to encourage the use of solar energy in the state.

“We have prepared a draft of the policy to boost the use of solar energy in the state. The policy is meant for housing societies, residential complexes and institutions. Our emphasis is that the people should use rooftop solar panels and solar cookers, water heaters, purifiers, lamps and pumps,” an official from the energy department said. The proposal is expected to come before the Cabinet this month for approval, the official added.

The government is going to give the status of ‘green building’ to institutes that follow the policy norms, he said. “Other incentives could be in the form of tax relaxation and more FSI. But we need a nod from the urban development department for that. We want departments related to housing to support the policy and give incentives as per their convenience,” the official said.

The policy proposed by the state on the use of solar energy for domestic purposes is the first of its kind. “The solar energy required for household purposes is little, and therefore we are bringing this separate policy. The energy will be generated with rooftop solar panels. As per the surveys, the state has potential to generate a good amount of solar energy,” he added.

The state government has announced that 7,500 mw of solar power would be generated till 2019. It has invited a public-private-partnership model for the new solar power generation stations. There are innovative experiments taking place in the state to generate power by putting floating solar panels on the sides of dams.