Solar Energy: A Possible Solution to Gurgaon’s Power Woes

Kunwer Sachdev Economic Times op-ed on why solar — not diesel — is the honest answer to Gurgaon worsening power crisis.

Kunwer Sachdev’s bylined piece for The Economic Times makes a specific, city-scale case for solar: Gurgaon, one of India’s fastest-growing financial and industrial hubs, is running out of reliable power — and the way out is not more diesel, it is more sun.

A city outgrowing its own grid

The numbers he opens with are stark. Gurgaon’s population had crossed nine lakh by 2011 and electricity demand was rising by roughly 10 per cent a year. Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam figures showed a 25 per cent shortage in supply, translating into ten- to twelve-hour outages in parts of the city — a pattern that only got worse in summer. The city’s 2014 draft master plan already flagged a 55 per cent jump in demand since 2005, driven by industry, streetlights, motors and water pumps.

Why solar — and not diesel — is the answer

The current fallback, diesel generators, only worsens the city’s air quality. Sachdev argues the honest alternative is solar. Haryana receives high-intensity solar radiation on more than 320 days a year; Gurgaon already generates 17 MW from rooftops with another 11 MW in the pipeline. The Indian Institute of Sustainable Development, he points out, sees far more potential than that being tapped.

“Solar energy can be regarded as the most appropriate solution for resolving Gurgaon’s power woes — not just to tackle the crisis but to cut carbon and bring down bills.”— Kunwer Sachdev, The Economic Times • 25 July 2017

Policy already exists — use it

Central policy, Sachdev notes, has already moved. The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy runs incentives for wind, solar, small hydro and bio-energy, and the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission targets 20 GW of solar by 2022. Gurgaon has been chosen for a massive rooftop-solar programme, and the Haryana Renewable Energy Department has made solar panels mandatory for buildings above certain sizes — minimum 1 kW or 5 per cent of connected load, whichever is higher. The scaffolding is there; the follow-through isn.

Net metering, RWAs and the CSR angle

He then lays out the mechanics. Net metering should be actively promoted — a building generating 10 kW but consuming only 6 kW can sell the surplus back to the utility and earn revenue. Modern, efficient lighting should be standard in parks and community areas. Under-construction buildings should adopt the green-building playbook. Resident welfare associations should take the lead in their own neighbourhoods, and companies should treat solar as a serious CSR channel — not a token line item.

A template for other Indian cities

Under it all, Sachdev is making a wider argument. Gurgaon is just the visible example: any Indian city whose demand growth is outpacing its DISCOM has the same choice — keep patching with diesel or set energy-performance targets, mandate on-site generation, and use renewables to actually meet a share of demand. Solar, in his framing, is not the aspirational future; it is the appropriate, available answer already sitting on the roof.