Sister’s flat helps farmer build profitable solar park:Mortgaging her property, he earns 8 lakh monthly selling electricity to govt from his solar setup

Farmers in Rajasthan are now earning not just from crops but also from electricity. Dharmendra Mehta from Mundawar in Kotputli-Behror district is one such farmer. Dharmendra has set up two solar parks on his 27 bigha land, producing over 30,000 units of electricity every day. He sells this electricity to the government, earning up to one lakh rupees daily. To start his solar business, Dharmendra had to take a loan by mortgaging his sister’s flat. His efforts were recently praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. First 2 MW Plant Installed Under KUSUM Scheme
Farmer Dharmendra Mehta, a resident of Sanoli village, said- In the 2019 budget, the central government had talked about increasing farmers’ income by installing solar power plants on their land. During this time, the idea of installing a solar park came up. My first solar plant was ready on June 18, 2021. This was the first 2 MW plant under the KUSUM scheme. There were many difficulties in installing the first plant. The total cost of setting up the plant was 7 crore. There wasn’t enough money at home. When I went to the bank for a loan, the bank said that on one side there is DISCOM, and on the other side there is the farmer; if both parties default, how will our money be recovered? There was a lot of running around for the loan. Along with my own property, my sister’s flat located in Delhi was mortgaged with the bank. Only then did I get a loan of 5 crore rupees from the bank. The remaining 2 crore rupees were collected from the income of farming and the dairy plant, along with borrowing from relatives. Currently, the plant is producing 12,000 units of electricity. When income started, another plant was installed
Dharmendra Mehta said – The first plant was set up on 12 bighas. When income started coming from the plant, confidence grew. On September 26, 2024, he installed a second plant. This plant is of 2.74 megawatts. It cost a total of 10 crores. By the time the second plant was installed, the government and the bank had changed their policies. Because of this, a loan was easily obtained from the bank. The bank gave a total loan of 7 crore. 3 crore rupees came from the income of the old plant. This time, on the 7 crore rupee loan, a discount of 1 crore 93 lakh rupees was received from the government on the interest. 18 thousand units of electricity are being generated daily from this plant. It is being sold to the electricity board at the rate of 3 rupees 11 paise per unit. The loan taken for both plants is for 10 years. After paying the bank installment, I am currently saving 7 to 8 lakh rupees. Selling 30 thousand units of electricity to the corporation daily
30 thousand units of electricity are being produced daily from both plants. A separate power line has been laid from the solar park to the GSS of the electricity department. In this way, electricity reaches the grid directly. Selling electricity from the first plant fetches 3 rupees 14 paise per unit. Electricity from plants installed later fetches 3 rupees 11 paise per unit. An ABT meter has been installed by the electricity board to calculate the units sold. After deducting all expenses, there is currently an annual income of up to 1 crore rupees. Cleaning of plates with machines
Dharmendra said – two machines have been ordered for cleaning the solar energy plates. The plates are cleaned every week. Three laborers have also been employed for maintenance. Sometimes, due to excessive dirt or dust accumulating on the plates, the machines are unable to function properly, due to which laborers have to clean them. These plates are cleaned with water once every two months. Equipment installed for protection against lightning
Dharmendra Mehta said- We have installed five devices in the entire area for protection against lightning. If there is any apprehension of lightning striking nearby, these devices attract the lightning towards themselves. This prevents any damage to the plates. A few days ago, lightning struck this device, but due to the device, the plant suffered no damage. Now planning to install 5 new plants
Dharmendra Mehta said- We are three brothers. All live together. Earlier, the entire family’s income from farming was very low, but after the solar park was installed, their income has reached up to 8 lakh rupees. Now they are planning to install 5 more new plants.