4000 Homes with Solar Panels & EV Parking To Be Up For Grabs in Maharashtra Soon

Homeowners have finally begun to recognise the benefits that solar offers. With around 40% subsidy on offer by the Government, residential solar rooftop is easy on the pocket. There is 20% subsidy for group housing societies and RWAs. Additionally, there is payback of as low as four years on investment. This awareness is complemented by greater adoption of electric vehicles, urging realtors to build homes that offer EV charging infrastructure and parking.

With this in view, Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) is ready with 4000 homes that will be hot on the market by March 2023. These homes will have amenities such as swimming pools, gyms, club houses, yoga centres, and balconies. But what sets them apart is that they will boast of solar panels and parking for electric vehicles. These are 3BHK flats priced under Rs 1 crore.

Government bodies and housing authorities are also facilitating this transition, especially at policy level. In 2022, a slew of policies were announced at State-level to captivate the interest of EV owners and potential EV buyer.  One may recall that last year, the Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority had mandated new and upcoming complex structures to reserve 20% of parking space for electric charging. 30 per cent will be shared parking space or parking space not allotted to individual residential flat owners. The policy further dictates that the public parking plazas will have to look at conversion of minimum of 25 per cent of their capacity by 2023 with EV charging facilities. This is in keeping with the Maharashtra Electric Vehicle Policy 2021.

The Maharashtra Government is also on a streak of promoting solar rooftops in residential areas. Less than two years ago, an arrangement was made towards this, which facilitates an arrangement for net metering, which enables homeowners to sell surplus electricity to Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL).

However, the installation of solar panels in residential complexes is not a new initiative. Back in 2020, a series of housing societies in Mumbai set a precedent of sorts with the installation of these panels. What’s more, one housing society also reaped the benefit of this installation in the form of discounts in monthly bills. Several other Mumbai-based housing societies followed the example.

Last year, MSEDCL Managing Director urged close to 250 empanelled agencies to expedite applications for rooftop solar.

In a similar development aimed at promoting employment of solar energy in residential complexes, Vivarea Condominium became the country’s first residential society to use group captive solar energy for domestic usage.

To sum up, Maharashtra is setting an example worth following for other residential development authorities and bodies in other states.