The Ratnagiri Zilla Parishad in Maharashtra was incurring a steep electricity bill of ₹91.6 million (~$1.07 million) a year on powering streetlights that the 846 gram panchayats had to pay. Last year, the local body hit upon a revolutionary idea to bring down its power bills. But it did not opt for the oft-trodden path of rooftop solar. Instead, it went in for a 1 MW ground-mounted solar project.

Commissioned on August 15, 2024, the unipolar-tracked seasonal-tilt solar project is claimed to be the first of its kind for any local self-governing body. A brainchild of the then Zilla Parishad’s CEO, Keerthi Kiran Pujar, the project used barren government land.

Pujar realized that rooftop solar has its limitations. While the capital investment is less, and land is not required for rooftop solar, net metering with distributed meter connections can be challenging. Imagine streetlights in dozens of locations and the logistics and equipment involved – inverters, meters, and batteries.

The Zilla Parishad zeroed in on two main requirements, land and funds, both available with the gram panchayats. Since the government is the biggest landowner, plenty of revenue land was lying unused. Funds were not a constraint since they could always dip into assured money in the District Planning Committee (DPC) budget, 3% of which is earmarked for renewable energy development.

The Zilla Parishad entered into an agreement with one of the gram panchayats for five acres to set up the solar project. In exchange for the land, the Zilla Parishad agreed to pay for all the gram panchayat’s public utility light bills, not just for streetlights but also for meeting the power needs of schools and anganwadis (creches).

Funds came from the DPC under the 3% renewable energy head. The Zilla Parishad hired a consultant to prepare the detailed project report, after which technical approval was secured from the Maharashtra Energy Development Agency. Grid connectivity and other permissions were obtained from the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company.

The project, which generates 1.9 million units of electricity a year, took about eight months for commissioning. The solar panels, mounting structures, transformers, and the 11 kV line to the substation cost about ₹83 million (~$977,452).

To sell the excess power from the project, the Zilla Parishad signed an open access power purchase agreement (PPA) with a private company at a tariff of ₹4.50 (~$0.053)/kWh, much more than the ₹3.30 (~$0.039)/kWh offered by the state distribution companies.

The ₹8.5 million (~$99,805) revenue earned from the project, minus the maintenance charges, will be distributed equitably to all the gram panchayats in proportion to their size and population.

With this project, the local body will save on electricity bills and ensure a hedge against any future tariff increases with a 25-year PPA.

Pujar mentions in his blog, “It takes a bit of idealism, foolhardiness, and a calculated risk to do something like this.”

The 1 MW project has demonstrated that local bodies can utilize barren land to generate power at scale, which can be exported. Maintenance is easy because the project is in one centralized location.

Spurred by the success of the first ground-mounted solar project, the Zilla Parishad is starting its second such project in the Guhagar block, with a third one planned for the Ratnagiri block. Eventually, each of the nine blocks will have a 1 MW project.

Pujar, now District Collector at Dharashiv, feels a combination of rooftop solar and ground-mounted projects can nudge rural India towards carbon neutrality. “The potential is just waiting to be exploited,” he said.