While Kerala is still reeling under a scam termed as ‘Solar
scam’, the guts of a lad who approached me recently to consider installing
solar panels to bring down my energy bills totally took me by surprise. I asked
him why at this juncture one would market a product when hearing the very term ‘solar
energy’ raises many eyebrows? He said calmly that he is aware of the present
issues and explained the business model to me convincing me that no upfront investment is required. Payment is
only required after installation of the solar energy infrastructure and after I
am totally satisfied with the result. Sounded like a fair deal and his explanation put me at ease as my
apprehension lowered considerably.
As one politician in Kerala
puts it ‘Solar energy has become a dirty term now’. A fraudulent solar energy
company which used 2 women to create extensive political contacts and conned
many has been hogging the headlines in the media. The turn of the events had all
the ingredients of a soap opera such as women, sex and politics to keep
everyone hooked. The question now is, could the solar scam eclipse a sunshine
industry? Despite all the
hue and cry, the total sum Team Solar could raise by offering to install
power units was less than Rs 10 crore going by the complaints from cheated
customers and prospective business partners. But the damage the scam has done
to the solar energy sector, a fast growing industry in Kerala, is incalculable.
An electrical engineer who recently set up a solar energy
solutions start-up with his peers had trouble finding office space in Kochi as
building owners suspect some sex scandal.
Solar
energy had emerged a sunshine industry in the past five years because of a high
level of public awareness about green energy and thanks to government support.
Kerala’s draft solar energy policy aims to generate 500 MW by 2017. Last year’s
monsoon failure and this summer’s long power cuts gave a boost to solar energy.
I
strongly feel that one should not allow a few con (wo)men to ruin the prospects
of such a high growth industry.
