Off-grid solar

The nation installed a cumulative solar capacity of 41,689 MW as of December 31, 2020, with 1298 MW added in the October-December period. Going forward, capacity addition in the current year’s first quarter could exceed 2 GW.

The renewables-powered mini-grid with 50kW peak system capacity was recently installed at the residential colony of the institute’s Center for Excellence in Farm Machinery (CoEFM) in Punjab. It uses solar trees of different capacities and biodiesel-run generators to provide uninterrupted power. 

Smart Power India, a subsidiary of US-based impact investor The Rockefeller Foundation, was established in India in 2015 with the aim of extending power to those without sufficient access to reliable and quality electricity. Jaideep Mukherji, CEO, Smart Power India, speaks to pv magazine about their work in India and way forward.

Standalone solar-powered refrigerators present a $20 billion opportunity in India for vaccine storage, milk chillers, households, micro enterprises, and cold storage for farm produce, according to a new report by Gogla.

The private-sector arm of the World Bank, which claims to leverage $3 of its own capital and $8 from third parties for every dollar invested in its blended finance funds, has attempted to quantify what devoting Covid recovery funds to green investment would mean for emerging economies.

Bids are invited to supply, install and commission an aggregate 317,975 quantity of 1-10HP off-grid solar pumps across India. Bidding closes on February 4.

The floating restaurants and boats shall have on-board Li-ion battery storage to continuously power main motors and utility loads for six hours on a single charge. The batteries shall be charged by solar power and AC current from the shore to ensure the loads’ uninterrupted operation.

The selected applicants are required to execute projects across categories like solar-powered cold storage, solar water pumps, solar-powered reverse-osmosis water systems and off-grid solar systems for primary health care centers on a turnkey basis. The work includes engineering, supply, erection, commissioning along with maintenance support for three years.

Gopal Lal Somani, a former director at the Jaipur-based Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Ltd (RRECL), says distributed solar systems with storage are the key to achieving India’s mission of supplying clean energy at an affordable cost to all. In this article, he dwells on the benefits and techno-commercial feasibility of these systems for the nation.

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police outposts along the China border at the height of 18,000 feet use MicroSun Solar panels to generate electricity for central heating, among other applications.