How to Monetise Corrugated Sheets?

Any industrial or commercial structure will have a roof. Usually in case of industrial structures it may be a corrugated aluminium roof or some other similar structure. These roofs provide cover to the labour as well as machinery involved in manufacturing various products. But we forget that the very medium from which this roof protects for most part of the year, the Sun, can be used to monetise this roof.



How can this be done? Well simply by installing a roof top solar power plant. The basic need of a solar power plant working on the Photovoltaic Cells is shadow less access to sunlight. In large industrial plants, these industrial rooftops represent large areas of shadow less surfaces on which the sun shines.

The most industrialised states in India are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. These states have long dry summers with intense sunlight. In fact the solar insolation in these parts of the country is one of the highest.



Nowdays, rooftop solar power is being increasingly embraced by commercial, industrial and residential consumers as a back-up power source as well as a source for reducing power bills.  It combines on-site generation of power and utilising unused rooftop space at reasonable cost. Grid supply in India being what it is, most industrial and commercial establishments are dependent on diesel based power generation ranging from 1kW to 500kW for back up supply. Rooftop Solar Plants are a financially viable and eco-friendly option to supplement diesel based power production. Since the O&M costs of these plants are also minimal compared to Diesel Generators they help reduce expenditure on diesel as well as O&M of Diesel Generators.

In this eco-conscious world, the Solar PV Rooftops also help reduce a company’s carbon footprint as well as project the image of an eco-friendly and sustainable company. Thus you are not only saving hard cash but also building and strengthening your brand as a Green Brand.

In India, a rooftop solar power plant would generate at least 0.4KW-h/ day of energy for every square meter of rooftop available. If we want to monetise this roof space, then, considering the tariff in Maharashtra an industrial roof top solar power plant would generate enough electricity to minimise the electricity bill by Rs 2.44/ day (4 Cents/ day) for each square meter of roof top available. Assuming that one can generate peak power for 300 days in a year, which is true for this part of the country, one can save Rs 865.20 / year/ m2 of roof space ($12.99/ year/ m2 of roof space).

Now, let’s take a medium sized manufacturing plant. Such a plant would easily have around 3,000 m2 of roof top space available for installing a PV solar system. This would be just three buildings of dimensions 20 m X 50 m. If we have this much space available on the roof top, we can install a 300 KWp roof top plant and the savings in terms of reduced electricity bills from such an installation would be Rs 25,95,000.00/ year ($38,965.00/ year).



Yes the plant would cost money, but then the tariff would also increase every year. Taking all such considerations, the payback period in the aforementioned case would be around 11 years, while the life of the plant is at least 25 years. So from year 12 to 25, whatever electricity is generated by this plant, it is free and pure savings. Here we are not even taking into consideration other incentives offered by the government like accelerated depreciation.

If you feel that your organisation is ready to take advantage of such cost savings, please feel free to contact us. Adler Technoserve comprises a group of professionals with backgrounds in engineering. Our associates have more than 70 year’s cumulative experience in design operation and maintenance of technical systems. They have worked with global as well as Indian companies and have a wide experience in operations and maintenance.

Every solar installation is unique. We shall analyse your site and suggest the best design options. We not only provide Technical Solutions but also hand hold companies in implementing them. We can be contacted at rajesh@adlertechnoserve.com, or +91-9899345747. You can browse are services at www.adlertechnoserve.com.

Cdr Rajesh Sinha (Retd) is a ‘Mechanical Engineer’, a Post Graduate in ‘Nuclear Technology’, MBA in ‘Technology Management’ and  a trained ‘Solar Entrepreneur’. He is Founder of Adler Technoserve Pvt Ltd a company providing technical & business solutions and corporate training.

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