Religious institutions are deeply embedded in the daily lives of millions of Indians and are emerging as unlikely champions of the clean energy transition. Many are increasingly turning to solar power, not just to cut rising electricity costs but also to contribute to the fight against climate change. Seasoned renewable energy firms are helping them achieve their green goals.

Ohms Energy, a Mumbai-based solar engineering, procurement, and construction company, is deploying solar power systems across religious institutions in India to help them reduce electricity costs and promote environmental sustainability.

The company has completed solar installations with capacities ranging from 20 kW to 1,100 kW across multiple states. It has installed solar projects at the following religious sites, including Chinmaya Mission, Anoopam Mission, Satyanarayan Goenka Bhavan in Maharashtra, and Sri Satya Sai Trust in Telangana.

Anuraag Gupta, Director of Ohms Energy, stated, “It is immensely satisfying to support these institutions in their sustainability efforts. These installations not only provide environmental benefits but also substantial financial relief.”

According to Swapan Sarkar, CEO, Ohms Energy, the rooftop installations have reduced the religious institutions’ grid power reliance by approximately 70% to 80%.

In Rajasthan, solar systems have been installed at Shri Kika Bhai Prem Chand Trust, Shree Jain Shwetambar Sangh Pedi, Shree Jeerawala Parsvnath, Bheru Tarak Jain Tirth, Shri Vijay Pataka Parshwanath Maha Tirth, and Gyan Raman Charitable Trust.

Religious institutions funded these projects, often receiving government subsidies. Ohms Energy provides company warranties for the products and annual maintenance contracts for servicing post-installation.

The solar panels utilized in these projects are primarily from RenewSys, with Waaree panels used at some locations. The string inverters deployed are from ABB, Delta, and Polycab.

Installing solar systems in these religious institutions presents unique difficulties. For instance, at Sri Satya Sai Trust in Ananthapuram, local mango harvesters had to transport solar panels across rocky terrain manually.

The solar systems at the Kharghar-based temple have helped reduce its monthly electricity bill of ₹100,000 (~$1,171). The installation was particularly challenging because of the temple’s dome-shaped architecture. The temple is expected to recover its investment in under three years.

Back in 2022, the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple complex in Gandhinagar installed ten portable rooftop solar systems with a total output of 2.4 kW. Last January, the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust invited bids to install a 1 MW rooftop solar system at the

Several power-intensive units in the commercial and industrial sectors have been switching to clean energy solutions to bring down their electricity bills and demonstrate their commitment to sustainability.

Recently, Shyam Snacks Food, a snacks manufacturer in Haryana, expanded the capacity of its rooftop solar system to 2.2 MW with the help of ARM Green Energy.

Earlier this year, Maharashtra-based SG Heavy Engineering installed an Ohms Energy 400-kW rooftop solar system at its 200,000 sq ft facility in Wada for ₹15 million.