Lanco Infra to invest Rs 1,700 cr in solar unit

Lanco Solar Energy, a subsidiary of Lanco Infratech, plans to infuse Rs 1,700 crore for the second phase of India’s first integrated Solar PV manufacturing special economic zone (SEZ) project in Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh. “We will inject over R1,700 crore for the second phase for manufact

uring polysilicon, ingots, wafers, photovoltaic cells and modules with capacities equivalent to 250 MW (megawatt) per year,” said V Saibaba, CEO, Lanco Solar Energy.

The SEZ project, which commenced four months ago, is being developed in phases to put Chhattisgarh in the global map of polysilicon production bases. “We have estimated the fund requirement but the mode of financing is yet to be decided, which could be a mix of debt and equity both,” said Saibaba.

The first phase of the project, which involved an investment of Rs 1,340 crore, will be fully operational in a couple of months.

Moreover, the company is also strengthening its global market and plans to build solar farms in Germany, France, Italy, the US and the UK where it is already offering engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) solutions. “Alongside, in global solar markets, we have started participating in the bidding process of power purchase agreements,” said Saibaba.

Solar Lighting is changing lives in Rural India

Approximately 500 million people in India’s countryside still have no access to electricity. The government’s ambitious plan to electrify the entire nation by 2012 is based, in large part, on providing rural homes (particularly some 25,000 of the remotest villages) with decentralized renewable energy systems.

New Delhi, June 29, 2011 – Depending on the size, a Solar Home Lighting System can operate one or several lights. Normally a Solar Home Lighting System will have a 12-volt direct-current (DC) stand-alone system which uses PV to electrify small rural homes. Each SHS comes along with a PV module (also called Panel), a battery, a charge controller, wiring, fluorescent CFL lights, and outlets for other appliances. A typical design component is shown below:

 

Module
Solar modules for an Solar Home Lighting System would range between 20-50 Wp. They are mounted on a rooftop or atop a pole. The technology of this could be either crystalline or thin-film technology12 (also called amorphous).

Battery
An electro-chemical storage battery is used to store the electricity converted by the solar module. During the day, electricity from the module charges the storage battery. During the evening, the battery is discharged to power the lights and other applications. Batteries are typically the 12-volt lead-acid batteries, ranging in capacity from 5-75 Amp-Hours (Ah). Batteries are typically sized to provide several days of electricity or ‘autonomy’, in the event of overcast weather preventing recharging.

Charge controller
A charge controller is utilized to control the flow of electricity between the module, the battery and the loads. It prevents battery damage by ensuring that the battery is operating within its normal charge levels. If the charge level in the battery falls below a certain level, a ‘low voltage disconnect’ (LVD) will cut the current to the loads, to prevent further discharge. Likewise, it will also cut the current from the module in case of overcharging. Of course, some systems do not have this facility. Those which do not have the automatic charge controller would use indicator lights on the controller to display the relative state of charge of the battery. This is seen in most of the models available in the market. This device is important as once overused, it takes a long time for the battery to get charged. In rural areas, where literacy levels are relatively lower, the presence of this device built into the system help prevent overuse of the battery, thereby increasing the life of the system.

Lights
Compact fluorescent light bulbs, fluorescent tube (off late) are used for lighting. A Solar Home Lighting System normally would have anything between two-light systems to a four-light system. A 9 watt CFL provides illumination equivalent to a 60 watt incandescent bulb. These compact fluorescent lights have a 5-year lifetime.

Wiring & Mounting devices
A Solar Home Lighting System will also have additional materials for mounting and connections. Metal frames are included to attach the PV Modules to a pole or roof. The SHS components are connected by wires and contain switches for the lights. In some cases, wiring is housed inside conduits attached to interior walls.

Headway Solar is a Solar Energy company based in India. It provides a complete range of solar products and offer customized solar solutions. It is pioneering Solar Energy Solutions in India and provide a complete range of Solar Energy Products and customized solar solutions for enterprises, institutions and personal use.

Solar Home Lighting Systems launched by Headway Solar are different from any similar products available in the market. The products have been designed using software simulation and are based completely on Plug-and-Use model. They do not require an expert to install or repair. All the wiring and equipment provided are pre-fitted with interlocking sockets and optimum wire lengths to make the installation and use as simple as it can get.

Headway Solar is looking to set up a distribution network for its range of Solar Home Lighting Products. Distributors with strong rural market in their respective districts can contact Headway Solar to establish a business relation that can bring light to the masses of India.

For more information please visit: www.headwaysolar.com/solar-lighting.html

IFC Helps Expand Solar Power Generation Infrastructure in India’s Rajasthan State

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is working with India’s Rajasthan state to explore the state’s prospects as a solar manufacturing and power generation hub, establish research facilities, and help bring down energy costs.

IFC and Rajasthan state government are co-hosting a conference today titled, Rajasthan as a Solar Component Manufacturing Hub, that brings together policy makers, sector experts, international investors, and global and local solar manufacturing companies to share the latest insights on solar manufacturing opportunities in the state.

“Through interactions and in-depth discussions with major players, we hope to draw on their experience and network to help Rajasthan emerge as an attractive investment destination for solar manufacturing. This event is vital to understanding the needs of the private sector,” said Purushottam Agarwal, Commissioner, Bureau of Investment Promotion in Rajasthan.

Participants shared their views on incentive packages, support for infrastructure needs, identification of suitable zones for solar manufacturers, and exploring public-private partnerships to encourage solar sector development in the state.

“Rajasthan is one of the highest daily solar insulation recipients worldwide. A growing pipeline of generation projects, broad mineral base, relatively low labor cost, and a significant allied industry base are contributing to the state emerging as one of the leading markets for solar manufacturing,” said Hemant Mandal, IFC’s Senior Energy Specialist in South Asia.

Clean energy is a global strategic priority for IFC and it has led many innovative renewable energy investments in South Asia in recent years.

The conference is part of a three-year knowledge partnership between IFC and the state government to develop Rajasthan as a preferred investment location across key infrastructure sectors, helping increase employment and overall development. Ernst & Young also supports the knowledge partnership.

Rajasthan accounts for 80 percent of the total allocation made so far under India’s National Solar Mission plan. The state has assigned top priority to stepping up private investment in solar power and has already taken several steps in this direction. India announced the National Solar Mission in January 2010, with a phased implementation approach of working with state governments, policy makers, regulators, and power utilities to help establish solar energy leadership.

IEEE sees solar as the winner among renewables in 10 years

Image via Wikipedia

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the organization behind standards such as WiFi, Wimax and hundreds of others, sees Solar energy as becoming the cheapest power source in ten years.

The organization, which is increasing its focus on Solar this year through the setting up of a journal and experts groups, is one of the few international bodies to throw its weight behind a single source of energy and hold it up as the definite candidate to bet on. Most other experts and bodies tend to see a combination of sources, such as Wind, geothermal and nuclear as the solution to getting out of the hydrocarbon problem.

The IEEE, after which many standards are named, is considered the world’s largest association of professionals — encompassing experts in nearly all fields from electronics to aviation.

The forecast, if it comes true, will also pose a challenge to countries such as Saudi Arabia which derive a lot of its income from its deposits of fossil fuel. Many such countries actively limit their production so that that the reserves last for 20-40 years more. If Solar is sure to become cheaper than fossil fuels, such countries would be better of producing as much as possible when there is still demand for such products.

IEEE says Solar has the potential to more than meet the entire energy requirement of the planet.

“The rate of energy from sunlight hitting the earth is of the order of 100,000 terawatts. Just a fraction is needed to meet the power needs of the entire globe, as it takes approximately 15 terawatts to power the earth,” it pointed out. “No other alternative source has the same potential,” says James Prendergast IEEE’s Executive Director

Currently, power produced from solar photovoltaic plants costs around 4 US cents (Rs 18) per unit, while coal powered plants produce a unit of power at around Rs 3 or 4, without including cost of pollution. Many governments, such as India’s, provide purchase guarantees for solar powered electricity production. India, for example, is offering around Rs 17 per unit of such electricity, under its massive Solar Mission.

However, global solar PV production is still minuscule — around 20-30 Gigawatt per year, not enough to even meet the incremental power demand for a country like India. India has a total of around 155 GW of capacity most of which is able to run 24-hours a day, compared to solar which runs effectively only for around 6 hours.

The production capacity, however, has been increasing at an average annual growth rate of more than 40 percent since 2000. At current trends, by 2050, it is expected that solar PV will provide 11 percent of global electricity production, corresponding to 3,000 gigawatts of cumulative installed capacity.

Johnson Controls May Seek to Build Solar-Power Plants in India

Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI), a U.S. developer of energy-saving technology and hybrid car batteries, may seek to enter India’s solar industry as a plant contractor.

“We think there’s a tremendous opportunity” to engineer, build and operate plants for project developers, Pramoda Karkal, managing director at Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based company’s Indian unit, said in an interview in Mumbai.

India has awarded licenses to build at least 1,100 megawatts of solar capacity by next January, roughly equivalent to one new nuclear power plant and about 30 times what exists today. Companies are racing to line up financing and contractors for projects to meet their deadlines.

Within 20 years, India’s solar sector could create a $50 billion market and rival China’s, Karkal estimated.

“There are thousands and thousands of remote villages in India without a connection to the electricity grid,” he said. “Rather than laying miles of copper lines, it’s cheaper to build a solar plant. That’s why solar will take off quickly here.”

Johnson Controls had global sales of $12.8 billion last year installing equipment and controls for air-conditioning, heating, refrigeration and other processes that allow buildings to reduce energy consumption. The systems it has installed since 2000 have saved $7.5 billion in operating costs, the company estimates.

India is trying to pass legislation that would restrict the energy consumed by commercial buildings. If successful, that could create a $500 million market within five years for services in Asia’s third-largest energy consumer, Karkal said.

10 Strange Solar Powered Gadgets

Solar powered gadgets are everywhere now, and the ways solar power is incorporated into gizmos is fun to follow. Oh sure we’ve seen the double-take items like solar bras, and the cooler devices like cell phones. But so many are just down right strange. We’ve gathered up a handful of the odder solar powered devices that have made their way on to the scene. Click through to check them out.

Photo via 724deal

Starting with the silly, here is a desktop gadget that it meant entirely to entertain. The little head and body bobble back and forth, thanks to the tiny solar panel on the base. The point? Perhaps it’s just the very last life line to cling to if you’re dying of boredom.

Photo via Toys and Gadgets

This one is certainly strange, though actually serves a purpose. You can build your own bonsai tree with branches sporting various solar panels. The panels charge up a battery that you can connect your gadgets to. The battery, gadgets, and wires can all be stored inside the base, er, pot. It will lend a very sci-fi look to any home, and if you get bored with the look, just rearrange the branches. It’s one house plant you’ll have a hard time killing, but works just as hard converting sunlight to energy as its greener neighbors.

Photo via Select Solar

This…is a spider. We know it’s so because that’s what the company says it is…and that’s about the only way we’d guess it to be a spider. It does kind of resemble those little jumping spiders that hop on you when you’re laying in the grass at a picnic. Kind of. At any rate, it’s a 21-piece DIY kit that you, or anyone over the age of 8, can put together. If you’re itching to have it, most of the solar powered plasticrap stores sell it.

Photo via Technabob

What solar toy collection is complete without a solar powered rope-climbing monkey?! There’s nothing quite like slapping a solar cell on a piece of plasticrap and calling it educational. This little guy is intended to help kids “appreciate the power of alternative energy.” More likely, they’ll put it together, watch it climb the rope a few times and then it’ll end up at the bottom of the toy chest. If a parent really wants to make a toy educational, they’d grab one that is already at the bottom of the toy chest and teach their kids a cool hack, powering it with solar cells ripped off of the neighbor kid’s solar powered toy monkey that got used twice and tossed aside.

Photo via Gizmag

This is the Odysseus from Aurora. It is basically a low-flying satellite. It can fly in sustained uninterrupted flight for over five years, hanging around altitudes between 60,000-90,000 feet. And, it’s solar powered. It’s a concept device created by Aurora for military use, intended for surveillance and reconnaissance, communications relay and environmental monitoring. Useful, but still definitely a stranger bit of flying solar powered technology than we’re used to.

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Photo via Chinavasion

It’s not too often you think about your tire gauge. Tire pressure, yes; tire gauge, no. Especially the power source for your gauge. In fact, it’s easy to find one that doesn’t require a power source at all. But if you’re concerned that you have to have a digital tire gauge and it has to be reliably powered, well by golly there’s a solar powered one out there for you. So if you’re out in the middle of nowhere and you just have to check your tire pressure, have no fear…the solar cells on your trusty tire gauge won’t let you down.

Photo via Pocket Lint

If you’re looking for a way to line your walkway other than using solar luminaries, this could be a solution. But it looks a little too similar to a radioactive waste bin. We haven’t seen a yard-bound solar gadget light up quite like this, and in fact, one version will glow in an array of colors. The solar cell is on a spike that you set elsewhere, and a wire runs back to the battery in the pot. The makers say you can get as much as 8 hours of glow time in the summer, and as much as 4 in the winter.

Photo via Sunshine Solar

If you don’t want to return to a hot stuffy car, you could try out this solar powered ventilator. Somehow, with the window closed, it manages to clip on to your window and circulate fresh air into the car. Riiight. We’re guessing it actually just clips to your car window and whirrs away, pushing air around the car…nothing special, especially since the price tag is a relatively cheap $38. You might be better off sparing the plastic and just opening you car door and fanning your arms over the driver’s seat a few times before hopping in.

Photo via Gadget.Brando.com

If you want to look strange while walking around with a strange solar gadget, stick this one on the brim of your hat and consider yourself a success. The hefty-looking solar powered fan clips on to your visor and blows air directly into your face. Makes sense for a really hot day, but it might be a little less dorky to use a hand-held solar powered fan. Or, how about just…a fan.

Photo via Dvice

This little “Bugbut” named Nigel takes the cake for strange. Basically it’s a bunch of gadget pieces duct tapped together and powered by a solar cell. It climbs slowly around your desk, creeping out anyone who passes by. You can get one from Jenny, a.k.a. Tinyminds at Etsy. Definitely. Strange. Just keep it and the solar bug zapper a good distance apart.

Pune entrepreneur’s solar cap to keep you cool

This unusual cap uses the sun’s scorching heat to keep you cool. Improvising on a Chinese design, Pune-based entrepreneur Vivek Bhatia has successfully manufactured a solar energy-powered mini fan, which actually provides comfort on a hot day.

The fan with plastic blades is fitted on the cap’s bill. A miniature solar panel, fixed on the crown, generates a five-volt supply to power the fan as soon as one steps out into the sun.

Bhatia who created the fan this April said that although similar solar fan caps are made by some Chinese manufacturers, his device has a solar panel that covers a larger area and thus generates more power for a better fan.

“The blades are made of plastic and are completely safe for the person wearing it. We have added a tiny switch that can be used to turn the fan on or off,” he said.

A materials manager with various firms for nearly three decades, the fact that Bhatia has sold nearly 1,000 of his ‘Solar fan caps’ at Rs400 each suggests that it’s more than a novelty.

According to the innovator, the fan generates enough air to keep one’s face and forehead cool when out in the sun.

“Since there is no question of batteries, the fan doesn’t need any charging. The cap is functional even on partly cloudy days. We’ve been receiving a lot of orders from humid cities like Kolkata where we’ve created an entire customer base out of word-of-mouth publicity,” he said.

Bhatia first got into product development with ‘No Nap’, an anti-drowsiness device meant to prevent accidents caused by sleepy drivers.

His fledgling firm Fuel Saver India, based in Sanewadi in Aundh, is dedicated to creating gadgets that run on renewable energy, mainly solar energy. He is assisted by his wife in packaging, dispatching and following up orders.

Synapse Helps Make Clean Electricity Affordable for Low Income Households in India

Synapse Helps Make Clean Electricity Affordable for Low Income Households in India
Pay-As-You-Go Solar Energy System from Simpa Networks Improves Quality of Life While Reducing Fossil Fuel Consumption.

Synapse Product Development engineers are currently helping Simpa Networks realize their idea to bring clean, safe, and sustainable energy services to 20 million people by 2020 through a pay-as-you-go in-home solar energy system.

“We are always looking for ways to work with Clients whose values are culturally similar to ours,” said Chris Massot, Vice President of Sales & Marketing of Synapse. “Working with Simpa is a wonderful opportunity for us to use technology to promote the expansion of sustainable energy.”

Synapse designed and built the Simpa Regulator™ prototypes currently being tested with customers in Bangalore, India. The Simpa Regulator™ hardware platform enables the Progressive Purchase™ pricing model by metering and adjusting electricity availability in response to the entry of payment codes by customers. The result is a secure, low-cost, intuitive, rugged, and tamper proof device that allows Simpa to test and prove their new pricing model with real customers, giving them valuable new information about customer needs and desires.

“Our engineering team developed a cost-optimized hardware platform in a tamper-proof enclosure running an encrypted payment entry and validation scheme,” said Cameron Charles, Project Manager at Synapse. “This has been a great opportunity for our team to design something for a set of users who would not normally have access to this type of product.”

Nearly 1.6 billion people lack access to electricity, and another one billion lack reliable grid connections. Most rely on traditional fuel such as kerosene for lighting and often need to travel great distances for services such as mobile phone charging. These energy expenditures can consume up to 30% of household income.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Synapse through this critical phase of development,” said Paul Needham, President of Simpa Networks. “Their team was able to understand our requirements and develop a solution that was ready for installation in customer homes. Based on our synthesis of customer feedback, Synapse was able to quickly turn around new iterations of our Simpa Regulator™ which were back in front of customers right away for real-time testing.”

IFC invests $4 mn to build solar power plant in India

International Finance Corporation (Ifc) on Thursday announced an investment of $4 million to build the country’s first large scale grid connected thin-film solar power plant, which will help bolster clean energy locally and provide additional electricity to about 11,000 people.

The investment by Ifc, a member of the World Bank Group, into Sapphire Industrial Infrastructures, a subsidiary of Moser Baer Clean Energy, will support the construction of a 5-megawatt solar plant at Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu.

“Ifc recognises the potential of large-scale solar power generation to help meet India’s enormous energy needs,” country head-Solar Farms at Moser Baer Clean Energy Rajya Ghei said.

The learning from this project will help us replicate similar projects in other Indian states, Ghai added.

The solar plant will have the capacity to produce eight million units of power annually, and is expected to avoid approximately 6,600 tonnes of greenhouse-gas emissions per year.

Grid connected solar electricity has received lukewarm response from the private sector in India due to higher initial investment and generation costs as compared to conventional energy sources.

“The successful commissioning of this first large scale thin film solar photo-voltaic plant demonstrates private sector’s ability to rise to the challenges associated with achieving a balanced energy mix,” Ifc director, Infrastructure Asia, Anita George, said.

PROINSO to supply its first 2 MW project in India

PROINSO will conduct the supply throughout this year and, according to company sources, is currently negotiating the provision for other solar energy projects in India in excess of 20 MW power for 2011, for both Indian and European developers with projects in India.

MECASOLAR and PROINSO- companies that form part of Grupo OPDE- plan to open an office in India before the end of the year, and will be travelling there in April on a trade mission with the Spanish Association for the Internationalisation and Innovation of Solar Companies (SECARTYS-SOLARTYS).

This mission will enable both companies, – who participated in the Renewable Energy Technology Congress held in New Delhi -to see first hand the commitment that the Indian Government is making to solar energy, its current plans for the development of solar energy the forthcoming years –National Solar Mission-, and the various plans that some regions are carrying out. During this mission contact was also made with a large number of promoters, EPC companies and customers.

At the end of this year both PROINSO and MECASOLAR will attend INTERSOLAR INDIA to be held from 14 to 16 December. Prior to this, they will be present at INTERSOLAR EUROPE to be held from 8 to 10 June in Munich, where they hope to make contacts with customers in India, taking advantage of the huge attendance at the event.

PROINSO have highlighted the enormous growth potential for the solar energy market in India in the coming years, as forecasts suggest that by 2020, the country will have installed 10,000 MW.

World leader in distribution

PROINSO, which has offices in Spain, Germany, Greece, Italy, United States, Britain, Canada, China and Czech Republic– expects to exceed the figure of 1,000 MW supplied throughout 2011. The company can provide these forecasts as they have closed orders which predict that this figure will be added together to the 812 MW which has already been supplied since 2005.

PROINSO has a strong international focus, as is indicated by its more than 1,555 qualified installers who are part of its Network, in addition to more than 90,000 m2 of logistics warehouses spread out among its delegations.