Surat known for its diamonds and textiles has added many feathers to its cap over the years. A decade back it started its journey in renewable energy, where the municipal corporation took the lead by adding 100 kW for solar rooftops for its consumption.

A few years later, with TERI they rolled out one of the fastest rooftop adoptions for the city, and its neighboring villages. Surat has taken the lead in the solar energy revolution in Gujarat.

With over 9,500 households installing rooftop solar panels, the city now boasts a collective capacity of 20 megawatts of solar panels each, reducing electricity bills to zero for many and earning a staggering Rs 4 crore in government subsidies.

The city is India’s 8th largest city, the 4th fastest-growing city globally, and a hub for the diamond and textile industry. With over 5,000 diamond manufacturing units and over 100 listed companies in the Surat SEZ, it is emerging as a leading jewelry production hub.

It continues its onward march toward green energy adoption.

WriteCanvas lists the top 5 use cases:

1. Food processing:

In 1999, Tapi Food Products conducted trials with Gadhia Solar to test if their tutty fruity product could be manufactured by using solar energy. In 2003, they established a new plant with a solar cooking system installation plan. The installation cost was initially around 15 lakhs, but with government subsidies, the cost was reduced to around 4 lakhs. The first Solar Steam Cooking System was installed in May 2007, generating 350kg/day of steam at 6kg/cm sq. pressure. The system has since produced around 120 tons of products, saving around Rs. 2000/ton and protecting the environment from air pollution.

2. Textiles:

Goldi Solar, a global solar panel manufacturer and EPC services provider has solarized Surat’s First Textile Market for Avadh Group.
The project, to be completed in three phases, will generate 497,400 KWh of power annually and offset 47.1 tons of CO2. The Avadh Textile Market is expected to save 37.5 lakhs annually on electricity.

3. Diamond:

The Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) is India’s largest office building, boasting over 7.1 million square feet and nearly 4,500 diamond trading offices. The SDB also incorporates cutting-edge rooftop solar energy, implemented by URON Energy, ensuring sustainability in common areas and employing a radiant cooling system. The rooftop solar project features India’s largest floating foundation rooftop solar project, 100% puncture solar installation at unprecedented heights, over 37+ tons of HDG mounting structures, unique 3rd-generation inverter technology, and a waterless robotic cleaning solution. It consumes 50% less energy, achieving a remarkable 45 kWh/sq.m./yr compared to industry benchmarks.

4. Chemicals:

KPI Green has bagged the largest single LoI for executing a Wind-Solar Hybrid Power Project of 40 MW capacity from Anupam Rasayan India, Surat under Captive Power Producer (CPP). The capacity includes 21.50 MW wind and 18.5 MW solar.

5. Petrochemicals:

NTPC Ltd has commissioned India’s first green hydrogen blending project in the piped natural gas network of Kawas township, Surat. The joint effort between NTPC and Gujarat Gas Limited (GGL) began with the first molecule of green hydrogen being produced. The project aims to supply H2-NG (natural gas) to households in the Kawas township. The PNGRB has approved a 5% vol./vol. it is a blending of green hydrogen with PNG, with the blending level being scaled to 20%. This could bring India to the forefront of the global hydrogen economy.