As part of the Centre for Environmental Research and Education (CERE) "Switch on Solar” program to foster the adoption of renewable energy in India’s healthcare sector, the solarization of the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research, and Education in Cancer (ACTREC), the cancer unit of the Tata Memorial Centre located in Kharghar, New Bombay was inaugurated on February 4, 2025, World Cancer Day.
At the inauguration of solarization of the Advanced Centre for Treatment,
Research and Education in Cancer, Kharghar, by CERE
In collaboration with the bank BNP Paribas India, the initiative is part of CERE’s aligning with the nation’s broader commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2070, CERE founder director Dr Rashneh Pardiwala stated in a press note sent to Parsiana.
The project will be installed in three phases and is expected to generate 1,442,000 units of electricity in the first year and 34,410,000 units over 25 years. This will substantially reduce energy costs, minimize carbon emissions and promote sustainable operations for one of India’s premier cancer research and treatment institutions. Since hospitals like ACTREC rely heavily on electricity for hi-tech diagnostic equipment, 24-hour treatment and operations, advanced research laboratories, air conditioning and other world class facilities, switching to solar power will ensure reliable and clean energy while significantly mitigating the hospital’s carbon footprint. Also, the savings on energy costs will be channeled toward free cancer treatment for underprivileged patients.
"Our Switch on Solar initiative aims to assist charitable organizations such as schools and colleges, hospitals, old age homes, rescue centers and other institutions adopt renewal energy through the installation of roof-top solar panels, directly helping mitigate climate change, Pardiwala explains. "Over the past six years we have solar electrified over 50 institutions with the support of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) funds.”
The ACTREC solarization project exemplifies BNP Paribas’ commitment to advancing green energy solutions while empowering charitable institutions to reduce operational costs and reinvest savings into their core missions. The second oldest foreign bank in the country, it has six branches in different cities.
The Bombay based CERE is a not-for-profit organization established in 2002 by Pardiwala, an ecologist from the University of Edinburgh, and Kitayun Rustom, an environmental educationist. It works to promote environmental sustainability through research and innovation, formal education, government and corporate partnerships and publications.