mumbai

Updated: Oct 08, 2018 00:04 IST

Many religious institutions across the city are now switching to renewable means of electricity, with Bandra’s Jama Masjid becoming another addition to the list.

The solar panels installed on the rooftop of the mosque have helped in reducing the monthly power bill by 75%. The trustees of the mosque said their electricity bill dropped from ₹50,000 per month to ₹10,500 after the installation of the solar-powered electricity system.

“Being the cultural core of an entire community, we wanted to lead by example and reduce our dependency on polluting means of generating electricity, such as fossil fuels, and shift to green initiatives,” said Avesh Shaikh, a member of the trust.

Located at Swami Vivekananda Road, Jama Masjid, which is one of the largest mosques in the suburbs, installed a 30 kilowatt power (kWp) solar plant with 92 panels in August. The plant powers 26 air conditioners, lights, fans and other electrical equipment in the mosque and can generate 115 units of electricity even during rains.

The private company that installed project said the mosque spent ₹16.8 lakh to set up the installation and the amount will be recovered over the next three years and six months.

“The plant will generate 42000 kilowatt hour of electricity annually, which will help the mosque save ₹4.7 lakh worth of electricity expenses every year,” said Siddiqui Ahmad Roohul Islam, managing partner and technical head, Acute Solutions.

This is the sixth mosque in the city to adopt solar energy with the Akash Masjid in Agripada, Jama Masjid at Kalbadevi, Minara Masjid at Mohammed Ali Road, Zakaria Masjid at Masjid Bandar, and Hakim Dayam Masjid near JJ Hospital all going green for generating power.

HT had reported earlier this year that of the 1095 megawatt (MW) rooftop solar capacity in India, Maharashtra leads with maximum number of installations and capacity at 145.09MW, according to data from the MNRE.