Coimbatore-based denim fabric manufacturer KG Fabriks has recently installed 1.05 MW capacity rooftop solar power plants at its unit in Perundurai. A total of 3,444 high-efficiency crystalline solar panels occupying a total of 6,200 square metres have been installed on the roof to generate electricity. This rooftop solar power plant is expected to produce 15 lakh units of power per annum, fulfilling about 20% of the total power requirement of the factory. Installed by Sunshine Solpower Generation with an investment of Rs. 7 crore, the solar power plant was inaugurated by Dr. Prabakaran, District Collector of Erode.
Sunshine Solpower is claimed to have pioneered the Rooftop Solar OPEX model in India and has signed a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with KG Fabriks for supplying the entire solar power generated to the main grid. The project was liaised and initiated by Bangalore-based CBPUR Renewable Energy Projects.
With a manufacturing capacity of 10 million metres per annum, KG Fabriks consumes 9 lakh units of electricity per month, to which 1.5 lakh units would be contributed by the solar power plant. “The solar plant will minimize the day time peak load and act as insulation on the roof, improving the working conditions inside the factory by maintaining a suitable temperature and reducing the load on the HVAC system,” adds Srihari Balakrishnan, President, KG Fabriks. The company claims that this is one of the biggest rooftop solar power plants in India and estimated saving of 1,300 tonnes of CO2 per annum, at the rate of 800 grams per unit.