By Prakash Kamat
(Fr. Nigel Alphonso, SJ)
Panaji,October 30- Fr. Nigel Alphonso,SJ of the Goa Jesuit Province gives a call to save Goa’s biodiversity,insisting that clean and green energy alternatives is vthe way forward for tiny coastal State with fragile ecology.
Admitting that the need for electricity is ever-growing and the need will only build as time goes by,he says that Goa being a small State with no power generation plants of any kind, meets all its energy needs through power purchased from its neighbouring States at a very high cost per unit.
The recent claim of the State government is that they are in the process of setting up a 400kv power plant at Molem, for which it is clearing up the land and working its way towards ruthlessly destroying the rich biodiversity of the place and tampering with the sensitive ecosystem of the beautiful Western Ghats. The only justification offered for this atrocious act being for the purpose of meeting the growing power needs of the State.
He laments that in a State such as Goa, the government has failed to come up with a reasonable and viable solar policy that would encourage the public to invest in the installation of solar power generation plants, this despite the fact that Goa doesn’t even meet 1% of its power needs through renewable sources of energy. Despite numerable attempts to encourage the public to install and invest in grid-tie solar power generation systems what rcemains a dark fact is the solar policy that has been drafted and implemented without much thought, includes clauses and conditions that defy logic. It feels as though those consumers who wish to go green and have installed such a system are being punished for their noble initiative.
He argues that a solar grid-tie system which in the long run is profitable and cost effective to the consumer helps meet one’s power needs for the next 25 years. This system also exports the surplus power generated to the grid thus benefitting the State Electricity department.
With the current billing system implemented by the Electricity department, however, a consumer is restricted to install a solar grid-tie system only up to the capacity of the sanctioned load mentioned on the electricity bill of the consumer.
Thus someone who is willing to invest a large sum towards green energy is deterred by this restriction, as the cost of installing a small solar power generation system is relatively much more than a larger one and the return on investment is also slower.
Secondly, if Goa is facing a deficit in terms of energy needs, why not encourage the setting up of solar farms on rooftops or empty plots with gross metering system in place where the power generated is directly fed into the grid for use in the area,asks Fr. Nigel.
Thirdly, a clause in the solar policy followed and implemented by the State Electricity department states that the consumer will not be compensated for generating power more than one’s average consumption of the 12 months before the solar installation. It is obvious that one’s power needs will only increase in the future and hence it is ridiculous, illogical, and punishing to the consumers who have taken the trouble to invest their hard earned money in their respective solar projects.
"The least the government could do to support this initiative is to compensate them for the green power that they supply at one third the cost that electricity is currently purchased from other States,"says Fr. Nigel.
The crores of rupees allotted for setting up this so-called power station at Mollem could well be used towards providing assistance and subsidy to many people who are willing to invest in a grid tied solar power plant. This way forward will easily take care of our growing demand for power without destroying our rich biodiversity, as this need will be taken care of by the generation of green and clean energy with zero carbon emissions and zero deforestation.
"We are stewards, not owners of the environment, and we must make every effort to promote clean and green renewable energy alternatives, thereby ensuring a better future for the next generation,"says Fr. Alphonso invoking inter-generational equity concept for natural resources.(eom)
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