Off-grid solar

The system will use an innovative solar film developed by Power Roll that can be manufactured for just $0.03/Watt and deployed on a wide range of non-load bearing buildings, including agricultural and warehouse roofs.

The CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI), Durgapur, which has expertise in the design and development of solar artifacts for multifaceted uses, and the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), Gurugram, will conduct joint field studies for different solar technologies and work towards skill and capacity building.

The Internet of Things (IOT)-enabled solar tree—using 35 solar PV panels with a 330 Wp capacity each—is especially useful for the agricultural community in providing electricity for high-capacity water pumps, e-tractors and e-power tillers. It can also allow precision agriculture through IoT-enabled features such as real-time humidity, wind speed, rainfall prediction, and soil health monitoring.

Manufacturers and integrators of solar-based drinking water kiosks, solar trees, solar street lighting systems, and e-rickshaw charging infrastructure can submit their interest by August 29. 

The 1.95 MW solar plant with 2.15 MWh battery storage will power four islands of the union territory—Agatti, Kavaratti, BangaRam and Thinnakara. 

Bidders now have until June 26 to bid for installation and commissioning of standalone off-grid solar water pumping systems in the State of Madhya Pradesh.

Researchers have simulated a cart-mounted solar pump which they say would mean farmers in off-grid areas would be able to irrigate fields by paying only for the solar electricity used.

Covid-19-prompted disruption severely impacted solar installation during January-March, 2020 as the country added only 689 MW of utility-scale PV against 1,864 MW scheduled to be commissioned.

The prime minister again emphasized the need for India to develop a domestic solar manufacturing industry and also urged officials to get on with plans to make Ladakh carbon-neutral.

The central government plans setting up of a 10 MW grid-connected solar project and various off-grid applications like solar trees and solar drinking water kiosks to meet all the energy requirements of Konark town.