Noorani Masjid in Pathanwadi, the biggest mosque in Malad witnessed a drop of 45 per cent in its electricity bill after adopting a rooftop solar system. The system allows the mosque to save approximately Rs 4.3 lakh annually.
Noorani Masjid has become the eight Masjid in the city to harness solar energy to save power.
The 25 kilowatt-power (kWp) solar power plant is made up of 72 solar panels and caters to the consumption of 60-tonne AC units, lights, and fans in all the common areas in the premises of the masjid. As per the reports, the solar system generates 110 units of electricity during the summer season and 80 units during the monsoon season.
The annual generation of the plant is 35,000 units against the mosque’s annual consumption of 80,000 units from the grid.
Rashim Gulam Rasul Maredia, chairman of the trust that runs the mosque, said that power consumption of the six-storey building was high due to the AC units. However, the electricity bill dropped from Rs 85,300 to Rs 37,400 post-installation.
“We were facing huge difficulties with inflated electricity bills based on high consumption from our AC units. However, after witnessing the successful projects across south Mumbai and even in Bandra, we opted for this cost-effective form of electricity generation,” said Rashim Gulam.
They decided to adopt the cost-effective form of electricity generation after similar projects were successful in south Mumbai.
Some of the other masajids in the city using solar power are Madarsa-e-Mohammadiya, also known as Akash Masjid in Agripada, Jama Masjid at Kalbadevi, Minara Masjid at Mohammed Ali Road, Zakaria Masjid at Masjid Bandar and Taqwa Masjid at Byculla.
