Seminary in Assagao monetizes its roof with Solar Energy

Location: Assagao 

Size: 20 kW solar power system

Components: Renewsys 355 Wp Polycrystalline Solar Panels (58), Goodwe Inverter, Flat roof ground mount   

Completion date: March 2022 

Goa is home to people of various faiths. Christianity was born under the guidance of missionaries who found their way to the coastal land. The Pallottines Society of the Catholic Apostolate (S.A.C.) have been in Goa since 1959. The congregation established its seminary for young brothers and priests in the village of Assagao. With the church, the seminary, and the residency under its premises, the founding priests were incurring massive electricity bills.

The management of the seminary in Assagao decided to create a social impact by adopting renewable energy to power the premises. The director of the seminary approached the SUN360 team to install a solar power plant over their flat rooftop. The team inspected the roof and designed an aerodynamic self-weight structure for the flat roof. 

This aesthetically pleasing structure offers a flexible and modular system for mounting the solar panels. The modular design facilitates customized configuration for the rooftop. Fast-click connectors connect the different components, and wind deflectors offer maximum safety to the solar panels from gusting winds. It’s not only flexible and easy to install but also safe and comes with a warranty of 20 years.

The Renewsys 355 Wp DCR solar panels are connected to a 20 kW Goodwe inverter, which provides remote monitoring, which allows the management of the seminary to monitor the solar power plant in real time and ensure that all the solar panels deliver maximum yield. 

The 20 kW solar power plant installed on the rooftop of the seminary has reduced the electricity bills to near zero. They save over INR 1 lakh per year, which allows them to use the capital towards other investments like providing education and training to the students, technology, equipment, faculty, and staff. The carbon not emitted is equivalent to planting 920 trees. The brothers and priests in the seminary have set an example in the community and have become social agents of change.