India's first integrated solar housing project is complete. This is a milestone and trendsetter in present times as it revolves around a concern for extending the life span of natural resources while at the same time providing human comfort, safety and productivity Amid the depleting wilderness of an upcoming township hugging India's bustling eastern city Kolkata, a block of red-yellow-red houses stands as a beacon of hope for the greens. The complex of 25 two-storeyed bungalows built for India's increasingly comfort-loving; middle-class occupants in the Rajarhat trfwnship of a severel) polluted Kolkata is hailed as a milestone - it is the 1 billion plus country's first integrated solar housing project. Christened Rabirashmi Abasan (Solar Housing Complex), the project has been designed to save energy and generate solar power - setting a trend tor similar projects in a nation that last year overcame political hurdles to sign a civil nuclear agreement with the United States for meeting energy demands. While energy-hungry India hopes the nuclear deal with the United States will contribute 5-7 per cent of total power5 supply by 2030, it focuses on other renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. RabiRashmi Abasan is conceived by West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Authority (WBREDA) and I engineered and managed by Bengal DCL I on a 1.76-acre plot. Solar PV (Photo Voltaic) technology! used in the housing has a widespread application and is used to convert solar rays into electricity. The application of Building Integrated Photo Voltaic (BIPV) technology has been growing at a rate of more than 50 per cent during the last 10 years with Japan, Germany and the US having taken the lead. In Rabi Rashmi Abasan, each home will generate 2 KW of power from solar tiles on the roof for its own consumption and feeding the surplus into the grid. The owner will also get power from the grid as and when necessary. The utility will pay the house owner and vice-versa on net monthly metering. Benefits of energy banking will also be available to the house owners. Each house is having solar water heaters and solar signage; area lighting is being done by solar streetlights. This housing dazzles as a milestone and a trendsetter. "Here every owner8 will not only have his land but also generate his own power for domestic use," said S P Gon Chaudhuri, managing director of West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation (WBGEDC), the body set up in one of the thickly populated Indian states whose 80.2 million people often reel under power cuts. We rate the success of such project with its carbon neutrality. "We indeed can fight global warming by such buildings," said Gon Chaudhuri, who won the international Green Oscar award in 2003 for spearheading solar projects in remote Bay of Bengal islands. The house owners are thrilled as well. "I feel proud of my house. The building cost was little high but we have energy security and we save on power consumption in the long run," said Debabrata Dutta, owner of one of the bungalows. "My home now is an extension of my office where I work on an initiative on ecological sustainability," said Dutta, who works with Wipro Technologies, a top Indian IT firms that practises eco-friendly operations. Like other Indian metros, there is a real estate boom in eastern metropolis Kolkata. Even foreign firms are investing in building property here. A new trend, however, is the green buildings. Technopohs. situated at the junction of Rajarhat new town and IT hub Salt Lakes Sector V has been hailed as India's first green IT building. It opened some time back. The pioneering project is designed to economise energy consumption and reduce the emission of green house gases (OHO), thereby earning carbon credits, which can be exchanged with developed countries for monetary returns. By now most of us know that the Kyoto Protocol, which was signed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and introduced from February 2005 by the signatory nations of the UN, has urged the developed nations to reduce their GHG emissions by an average of 5.2 per cent from the 1990 levels, during the commitment period of 2008-2012. Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is a scheme under the Protocol that allows developed countries to meet mission targets by funding environmental-friendly business projects in developing countries. The recipient countries will then be eligible for accruing carbon credits and selling them to the developed nations. Technopolis, the builders claimed, has succeeded in being the first IT building j in the country to be recognised as a part [ of CDM. It became eligible for earning | carbon credits after completing the first: year of its operations. The building is | one of the first to be recognised as a | green building by the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) convention of the US Green | Building Council. While India witnesses a real estate boom and bursts at the seams from urban and industrial pressure on power consumption, energy saving green buildings became a necessity. With a meagre green building footprint of 20,000 sq ft in 2003, India now has over 25 million sq ft being constructed all over the country. "We have 254 registered green buildings in India now, with many of them built by corporate bellwethers like Wipro, ITC, Ashok Leyland, Microsoft and HSBC," Sri Rekha, an architect with Hyderabad-based Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), said. Some of these buildings are eyeing carbon credit benefits now. Green buildings are catching on because in the long run it is cost effective as the users save on energy and water consumption, she said. Adds architect Thiru S Murugan, of Unit de Design, "Given the fact that India is a country of great natural resources, sustainable architecture should play an important role in urban planning. It is the need of the hour to save energy and minimise pollution waste. With a little effort we can make a great change to the built environment." According to IGBC, since 2006 there is a boom in green building construction. "Besides office buildings, residential houses are also applying for green certification from us. We have certified 65 homes already," Sri Rekha said. Last year, LEED India, the indi-genised version of the green rating system LEED developed by the US Green Building Council, was launched to boost the practice. According to IGBC, the market for green building materials and products is also developing and poised to reach Rs 150 billion by 2010. India's big time architects are now focusing more on green constructions. "Initially when I took the decision to design only green buildings about two years ago my practice dropped. But now it has only quadrupled," said architect Vidur Bharadwaj of New Delhi-based firm Design and Development". Bharadwaj is designing 35 million sq ft of green building space now since his first project - the swanky Wipro Software Development Centre at Gurgaon near New Delhi, a building which became one of the 10 Platinum-rated buildings worldwide was identified by LEED. "The challenge is often to convince the builder since the cost saving benefits go to the occupants," said Bharadwaj. WHAT IS A GREEN BUILDING? A green building should create delight when entered, serenity and health when occupied and regret when departed. Perhaps this is one of the most inspiring definitions of a green building, articulated in the book Natural Capitalism. The appearance of a green building will be similar to any other building. However, the difference is in the approach, which revolves around a care for natural resources. This approach results in reduction in operating costs like energy and water, besides several intangible benefits. SALIENT FEATURES OF A GREEN BUILDING ? Minimal disturbance to landscapes and site condition ? Use of recycled and environment-friendly building materials ? Use of non-toxic and recycled/recyclable materials ? Efficient use of water and water recycling ? Use of energy-efficient and eco-friendly equipment ? Use of renewable energy ? Indoor air quality for human safety and comfort BENEFITS OF GREEN BUILDINGS A green building can have tremendous benefits, both tangible and intangible. The immediate and most tangible benefit is in the reduction in operating energy and water costs right from day one, during the entire life cycle of the building. The energy savings could range from 25 - 40 per cent depending on the extent of green specifications. Other tangible savings would be reduction in first costs and enhanced asset value, intangible benefits of green buildings include increasing productivity of occupant's health, safety benefits and a green corporate image. Several corporate are now seeing green building rating as a tool to enhance marketability. WHY PEOPLE ARE ATTRACTED TOWARDS A GREEN BUILDING Operational Savings: Green buildings consume at least 40-50 per cent less energy and 20-30 per cent less water than a conventional building. This comes at an incremental cost of about 5-8 per cent. The incremental cost gets paid back in 3-5 years' time. DAYLIGHTS & VIEWS Working in environment with access to daylight and views provides connection to the exterior environment. This has a soothing effect on the mind. Various studies prove that the productivity of people who have access to day lighting and views is at least 12-15 % higher. AIR QUALITY Green Buildings are always fresh and healthy. Every Green Building will have to purge continuous fresh air to meet the ASHRAE 62 requirements. The Green Buildings use interior materials with low volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. A typical office building would require purging of fresh air of about 15 cfm/person which provides a fresh ambience inside building.