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‘Solar’ Suresh from Chennai is helping people switch to a green source of energy, one kilowatt at a time. Mr Suresh, who has made a notable history by making use of renewable sources of energy like sun, water and organic waste for his daily needs.
When Cyclone Vardah made landfall in December last year, the city of Chennai plunged into darkness and went without water and electricity for five days. Yet one home remained unaffected. At their home in Kilpauk, D Suresh and his wife had electricity and even surplus running water. Why, they had enough to even help their neighbours. “Our friends and neighbours were charging their cell phones and filling water at our home,” recalls the 73 year-old.
Suresh’s home is an oasis of abundance in the centre of a city known for power cuts, scorching heat and erratic rain. Creepers wind themselves around tall bamboo trees that lean against the compound wall of his property, which houses a large, two-storey bungalow. And, here and there, you notice 15-inch circular pits fitted with pipes that channel stagnating water into the soil, so that the groundwater is regularly recharged.
People are now spending more money on electricity, LPG and water. The demand is much higher than even the government has increased the prices of these fuels. It has created a financial burden for many.
This-old man who graduated from IIT Madras and IIM- Ahmedabad, previously worked as MD in a textile group. He is now retired and living in a self – sufficient house.
“S” for Solar and “S” for Suresh, affectionately tagged as “Solar Suresh” by his family and friends after he set up the Solar plant.
Like any opportunity that knocks only once, he visited Germany, there he saw houses had rooftop solar plants successfully implemented. When a country like Germany with little sunshine is successful, why it cannot be implemented in Chennai where solar energy is available sufficiently especially in Chennai? This idea crossed his mind, and that has made all the difference.
He returned to India and decided to apply this idea. He approached big corporates, all shook their heads. At last, together with the help of a local vendor, he successfully constructed a solar power for his home.
Today, it powers 11 fans, 25 lights, AC, washing machine, mixer grinder etc. No power outage occurred since then except during the cyclone Vardah.No extra wiring is required inside the house. Maintenance is needed half-yearly in the form of cleaning the panels.
After the success of the solar plant, he moved on setting up an organic vegetable garden. Today, his kitchen garden produces 15-20 types of fresh vegetables.
He makes use of this vegetable waste like peels, leftover food to make biogas plant. The food is cooked by using biogas, not by LPG in his home.
Apart from this, he has set up a rainwater harvesting system. It collects the rainwater from the terrace, gets purified with an organic filter comprises of charcoal, pebbles and sand, which then stored in the sump for later use. Isn’t it great?
Today, Suresh has not only saved a huge amount of money but also taught us to live an eco-friendly and a self-sustainable life.
THE ENERGY FACTSHEET
India ranks highest among the top five off-grid solar markets in the world, according to the Off-Grid Business Indicator Report by the Solar Energy Foundation
As per the Census of India 2011 and Wasteland Atlas of India 2011, the total solar power capacity in the country stands at 748 GW, which is more than twice of the country’s total installed power capacity
According to a Bridge to India study, India’s total installed solar capacity has crossed the 10 GW mark, a major milestone for the sector
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy aims to achieve 100 GW solar capacity by 2022, comprising 40 GW rooftop and 60 GW large and medium-scale grid-connected projects
Tamil Nadu has the highest installed capacity in the Indian solar market, followed by Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab
The world’s largest solar power plant spanning 10 sq km is situated at Kamuthi in Tamil Nadu. It packs 648 MW of power with a capacity to power 150,000 homes
Bloomberg New Energy Finance reports that 91,000 households have been electrified by solar-powered devices, such as solar lanterns and off-grid home systems, as of March 2016
GO SOLAR
Solar power is a natural, inexhaustible, non-polluting source of energy. In a word, it is unlimited, so you don’t need to watch your consumption
The cost of installation is only a onetime investment; once recovered, solar energy is free
A solar system requires low maintenance—cleaning once every six months
Central and state governments offer subsidies for off-grid installation of solar panels by commercial enterprises
