Solar rooftop: the challenge posed by a shared terrace

Residents on the nitty-gritty of welcoming solar power into their homes, how different the EB bill looks now, and reaching a consensus among residents in apartments

Restrictive roof space, shared ownership of the terrace and lack of buy-in from residents make solar adoption in apartments a massive challenge.

For the last two months, N. Balakrishnan, a vendor listed in the PM Surya Ghar scheme, has been waiting to get the “no objection certificate” from a customer in T. Nagar who is keen on investing in a rooftop photovoltaic (RTPV) plant.

“The customer lives in a 14-unit apartment in T. Nagar; he had been inspired to switch to solar power by the example set by his father who has installed a 10 KV solar plant in his independent house. This apartment’s terrace is not being used by residents to dry clothes but it has a water tank and cable lines run over it. Other residents are not ready to allow him to install the solar plant,” says Balakrishnan of Shiva Shakti Solar.

For a basic 3 KV solar plant to be installed, the vendor has to study if the remaining space on the terrace will permit other residents to install a similar facility in the future if they desire. “At least five residents have to agree to it by signing on a form provided by TANGEDCO along with signatures on their Aadhar copy and electricity bill,” says Balakrishnan, adding that he has been called for one more round of talks.

Bigger the number of units in an apartment, the more the challenge in getting personal solar connections installed on the rooftop.

Some years ago, Jeth Nagar Resident Welfare Association in Mandaveli tried installing an RTPV system for common services and consumption but it did not work out for various reasons, one of them being persuading the eight households sharing the roof space to agree to have solar plants installed.

A few years ago, Balakrishnan says, a dealer had to remove the solar plant in a new project as others in the complex objected to having such a facility. In another case in Nanganallur, an owner had a private terrace so it was easy to install the solar plant.